A plan that would “revitalize” the Old Redwood Highway Corridor in Windsor, adding bike and pedestrian safety measures among other changes, is nearly finalized.
According to a presentation by Kendra Ramsey, a consultant with planning firm GHD, Inc., to the Windsor Town Council Jan. 19, existing conditions present problems such as congestion at the Old Redwood Highway/Highway 101 interchange, safety concerns, challenging left turns, narrow bridges, gaps in sidewalk and bikeway infrastructure and pedestrian crossing challenges. Ramsey appeared before the council to ask for final feedback before the plan is brought back for adoption as soon as Feb. 16.
Efforts to create the Old Redwood Highway Corridor Enhancement Plan (ORH Plan) for the revitalization of the roadway began in May 2019, when Windsor received a $265,585 Sustainable Communities Transportation Planning Grant from Caltrans, with the overarching goals to increase safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, improve multimodal mobility and accessibility, increase transportation choice, and to “support a vibrant economy by maintaining, managing and enhancing movement of goods and people to spur economic development and growth,” according to the Jan. 19 Windsor Town Council agenda report.
Ramsey said the plan has been available for public review since the start of January, and that comments have mostly been positive, with additional suggestions on areas that could use improvements.
“It really enhances choice, and really supports the economy by maintaining a consistent corridor throughout the town,” Ramsey said.
The ORH Plan will divide the corridor into four segments in a 3.6-mile stretch between Shiloh Road and Starr Road, with projects and segments completed piecemeal as funding becomes available in the years to come. Emphases will be placed on increasing bicycle and pedestrian safety, in addition to increasing access to public transit while aiding in meeting other goals in the 2040 General Plan, such as creating mixed-use nodes and incorporating SmartGrowth Development.
The plan involves adding two roundabouts — at Old Redwood Highway’s intersections with Starr Road and Pleasant Avenue — estimated to cost $3 million each. Construction or improvements to sidewalks and bikeways will cost $1.2 million, and another $175,000 will go toward spot fixes such as improving signals, markings and crosswalks, for a total of $7.3 million. The specifics of the ORH plan can be viewed here.
The Caltrans grant funded only the planning efforts, and the plan itself is currently unfunded, although it includes strategies and prioritizations for obtaining state and local funding. Windsor doesn’t qualify for funding for disadvantaged communities with the state, however, the plan prioritizes areas of relative disadvantage, such as mobile home parks, medium-density zones and senior living facilities in case local funding becomes available.
“Windsor doesn’t fit criteria for a disadvantaged community. Instead we worked with the town to develop local prioritization for relatively disadvantaged areas,” Ramsey said. Of the four segments — north, center, southeast and southwest — the center project earned the highest prioritization score.
Major issues brought up by the council were street parking availability, bicycle safety and public reception to traffic abatement measures.
Councilmember Rosa Reynoza brought up the need for lower-income houses to park on the street, and questioned how the plan might make parking less accessible in the central and southern parts. Ramsey said that the plan considered parking, however, provision of parking over the levels required by the State of California wasn’t the focus of the plan.
Mayor Sam Salmon expressed concern with the plan’s traffic abatement measures, which include extending buffered bike lanes to narrow streets, which can incentivize drivers to slow down. He also said members of the public would not like other traffic calming measures, such as back-in parking spots, such as those outside Bell Village downtown.
“The public won’t like it. Why? Because they’ll have to slow down,” Salmon said.
The project has been underway since the town council approved a professional services agreement with GHD, Inc. in June 2020. Since that time, GHD, Inc. has consulted the public to identify needed changes and developed a draft plan, which, now that it’s been presented to the town council, could be adopted as soon as Feb. 16., after finalizing council’s feedback.
