$1.9 MILLION GRANT AWARDED FOR PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE SAFETY IN WEST LA MESA

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East County News Service

 

February 24, 2016 (La Mesa) -- The City of La Mesa was recently approved for a $1,919,000 grant through the California Transportation Commission (CTC) Active Transportation Program (ATP) to fund pedestrian and bicyclist safety enhancements in west La Mesa. The grant will provide improved connectivity to parks, local schools and access to the future Boys and Girls Club (Brady Family Clubhouse).

 

Improvements will include opening and extending Junior High Drive to Lowell Street and a midblock crossing with pedestrian rapid flashing beacons and in-pavement flashers connecting La Mesa Arts Academy to Helix Charter High School. Improved access will be provided to Windsor Hills Community Church located next to the future Boys and Girls Club site. Additionally, new sidewalks, bulb outs, ADA ramps, high visibility crosswalks, bike racks, pedestrian lighting, 1.3 miles of new bicycle lanes on University Avenue, and 3.5 miles of improved bicycle routes with sharrow markings will be installed. “Sharrows” (shared roadway bicycle markings) help remind motorists to share the road with bicyclists. The project is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2016 and complete in 2019.

 

This $1.9 million grant coincides with fundraising campaign by the Boys & Girls Club of East County Foundation to fund the construction of a new 25,000 square facility on the campus of La Mesa Arts Academy in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District. The future Brady Family Clubhouse will feature a learning center, computer lab, crafts room, outdoor playground, kitchen, multipurpose room and the Bill Walton Gymnasium, named after NBA Hall of Famer. The Clubhouse will provide a safe haven for children 5-18 every day after school and during the summer months.

 

This effort is part of an ongoing emphasis by the City of La Mesa to provide upgrades in West La Mesa. Most recently SDG&E undergrounded the utility poles on Normal Avenue.

 

 


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