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Santa Paula awards $841,756 design contract for 2-mile community bike trail extension
Summary
The City Council approved an $841,756 contract with M and S Engineers to design roughly 2 miles of Class I bikeway extensions, funded primarily by Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds and Measure T swaps. Council discussion focused on routing options, safety near Santa Paula Creek and future construction trade-offs.
The Santa Paula City Council on Aug. 21 authorized a not-to-exceed $841,756 contract with M and S Engineers for professional design services to extend the city's Class I bikeway system by about two miles, including conceptual and construction drawings, environmental analysis, lighting, landscaping and public engagement.
City Engineer Bob Woodward said the package would complete the existing easterly bikeway to the Santa Paula Creek and add northerly and westerly extensions that would link to regional routes. "This proposal will provide for the design of an extension of the existing class 1 bikeway, essentially doubling the length of bikeway in the city," Woodward said, noting the work includes design, drainage and community meetings.
The council was told the project is funded primarily with TDA funds awarded by Ventura County (about $1.4 million), together with approximately $400,000 in local match from Measure T swaps, for a roughly $1.8 million program budget; the $841,756 covers the design phase. "The TDA funds were given to us by Ventura County," Woodward said; "we did a funds swap so there's no net loss to the streets program." (Transportation Development Act is the state/local TDA program.)
Council members pressed staff on routing and safety. Council Member Juarez asked the team to examine precedents after a serious crash elsewhere and to ensure emergency-vehicle access; Woodward said the design phases include analysis of traffic counts, geometry and rough orders of magnitude so an infeasible option could be truncated early. Members also raised concerns about policing and visibility on sections that run behind industrial areas, and asked staff to study an option that would follow the creek more directly.
On the creek-side alignment, Woodward said designers typically include modest rail fencing or barriers and coordinate designs with Ventura County Watershed Protection District to preserve maintenance access. "A lot of the details will be developed as we design the preliminary alignment," he said.
The council approved the contract unanimously. Staff said the design will position the city to pursue construction funding and that construction could be phased once grant matches are secured.
The council directed staff to return with community-engagement milestones and an early report on any feasibility findings from the preliminary design phase; the contract award and budget adjustments were approved at the meeting.
