Pleasant Hill commission backs letter supporting ATP grant for Monument and Contra Costa boulevards

Pleasant Hill — The Traffic Safety Commission on June 2 voted to provide a letter of support for Pleasant Hill’s Active Transportation Program (ATP) grant application to upgrade facilities along Monument Boulevard, Lisa Lane and a segment of Contra Costa Boulevard.

Staff engineer Anthony New told the commission the city updated an earlier 2022 concept — pushing from shared routes toward a combination of a class‑one shared-use path and class‑four separated cycle tracks — to improve safety and serve a broader range of riders. "This project will construct a class‑one shared use facility on Monument Boulevard with a landscape buffer through the interchange to Contra Costa Boulevard," New said during the presentation.

Why it matters: ATP grants are competitive and federal scoring favors projects that serve disadvantaged communities. Staff said the application was strengthened by targeted outreach to a neighboring disadvantaged community in Concord, letters of support from schools and local bike groups, and MTC technical assistance following an earlier unsuccessful application.

What the commission heard: Staff outlined the project limits and emphasized the application stage is concept‑level only. Commissioners pressed staff on the proposed closure of an I‑680 slip lane and whether that would require Caltrans approval and additional traffic analysis. New said detailed traffic studies and Caltrans coordination would occur only in design phases if the grant is awarded. "Caltrans will require higher‑level traffic studies when we get to design," he said.

Motion and outcome: A commissioner moved that the commission support a letter of recommendation for the ATP8 application; another commissioner seconded. The commission expressed unanimous conceptual support during the discussion and staff confirmed the application and requested letter will describe concept‑level support rather than a final design commitment. The transcript records voice assent and planned letter signing; no roll‑call tally was recorded.

Next steps: City staff said the ATP8 application is due June 22 and that, if funded, the project would move to subsequent design phases with Caltrans and other stakeholders. A project of this scope would still require environmental review and design approvals at later stages.

The commission’s letter of support will be added to the grant packet; staff will return with design‑level plans to council if the grant is awarded.