Salinas commission hears Williams Road safe‑streets plan as business owner warns roundabout access could cut customers

The Salinas Traffic and Transportation Commission on July 9 received a presentation on the Williams Road Safe Streets Corridor project, a federally funded safety and active‑transportation effort that would add protected bike facilities, raised medians and single‑lane roundabouts at key intersections along Williams Road from Bridal John Street to Freedom.

Consultant Molly Tremblay said the city pursued a Safe Streets and Roads for All grant in 2023 and was awarded $16,000,000, and later received about $8,000,000 through an Active Transportation Program grant; environmental clearance is expected in a matter of months and the project is in preliminary design and outreach. “This project is rooted in safety,” Tremblay said, listing raised medians, lighting, enhanced crossings, rapid‑flashing beacons at midblocks and protected bike lanes in portions of the corridor.

The presentation included an intersection control evaluation that compared roundabouts and traffic signals using a benefit‑cost framework that monetizes safety and delay. Tremblay said the analysis found single‑lane roundabouts produced the best return on investment for safety and maintenance costs at the studied intersections. She also explained the pedestrian safety rationale, noting lower vehicle entry speeds and fewer vehicle‑pedestrian conflict points at roundabouts.

Why it matters: Commissioners and residents said the corridor affects longstanding businesses and largely residential neighborhoods in East Salinas, and they urged careful outreach, parking‑preservation and clear design choices. Several commissioners pressed staff to ensure Spanish translation, business‑targeted contacts through the city’s small business navigator, and multiple outreach meetings timed to reach working residents.

Business access and public comments: A public comment read into the record from the owner of a gas station at 8 Williams Road said the proposed raised median and roundabout would eliminate customer access and requested that the median be opened on one side to preserve ingress and egress. The comment said the owner was surprised the roundabout appeared to be “already approved” and said, “If not, then, you know, I have to exercise, you know, legal action or whatever I gotta do to see what my rights are as a local business owner.” The chair responded that planning staff would address traffic flow and that roundabout designs in other California cities have accommodated gas‑station access.

Local traffic calming requests: Two residents also spoke during the public‑comment period about traffic hazards outside their neighborhoods. Leo De La Rosa described poor or hard‑to‑see pavement arrows near Sun Street and Rossi Road that could cause conflicting traffic flows, and he urged improved signage. Antonio Ravalgo of Montebello said his neighborhood requested speed bumps 3.5 years ago and remains on a waiting list after the city notified residents last year that no budget was available; he reported repeated dangerously high speeds on Skornburg near a canal and offered video evidence.

Design tradeoffs and commissioner concerns: Commissioners discussed alternatives described as the “Fremont” option (raised center cycle track, narrower medians and added landscaping), a green two‑way cycle track and a standard protected bike‑lane layout. The Fremont alternative was shown as preferred in outreach materials for its safety and landscaping but would remove some parking, a point several commissioners and business owners flagged as a community concern. Commissioner comments urged keeping parking where needed, ensuring lanes can handle farm equipment and trucks, and committing to maintenance (sweeping) of bike lanes.

The consultant clarified that earlier program language describing a four‑lane road diet was legacy text: the project will retain two travel lanes in each direction between roundabout approaches, with a neck‑down to a single travel lane at each roundabout approach. Buffered class‑2 bike lanes are planned north of Del Monte; south of Del Monte the plan anticipates protected facilities (class‑4 or class‑1) depending on community preference and driveway frequency.

Next steps: The commission collected comments but took no formal vote on the project design at the meeting. Staff said outreach will continue, the city is coordinating with the public information officer and the small business navigator to reach affected businesses, and the project will advance to final design after environmental clearance. The commission completed its administrative business — approving the consent minutes and electing its chair and vice chair at the start of the meeting — and adjourned at about 7:05 p.m.