Big Changes with a Little Paint

As a number of construction projects in the Soquel Village area are winding down, I know many of you who frequent the area are happy to see traffic flowing smoothly again. These projects have brought exciting changes to Soquel Village!

Given our scarce road maintenance funds, I was initially frustrated to see that the recent Soquel Creek Water District (SCWD) upgrades along Soquel Drive would cut into a significant portion of this relatively new road surface. Fortunately, County Public Works staff together with the support of the SCWD worked to re-surface this entire stretch of roadway. I saw this as an opportunity to address a long-standing bicycle safety issue in Soquel Village. Vehicle speed and awareness of bikes and pedestrians in Soquel Village is vitally important, especially as the new Heart of Soquel Park comes closer to reality. With guidance from Soquel resident and avid cyclist Steve Piercy I asked Public Works staff to consider new roadway treatments to enhance the bicycle safety in Soquel Village. Jack Sohriakoff and Public Works staff took my request and sought a solution. What you now experience are not only the FIRST green bike lanes in the County, but a complete bike lane all the way through Soquel Village in the east bound direction. To achieve this Public Works staff slightly narrowed the vehicle travel lanes between Porter Street and Daubenbiss Avenue. By narrowing the vehicle lanes it provided enough room to create a full bike lane through Soquel Village and will help reduce vehicle speeds providing a safer environment for bikes and pedestrians. 

I want to extend my gratitude to Steve Piercy for his expertise and guidance and to Public Works for finding this solution and helping create a more pedestrian and bike friendly environment in Soquel Village.