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WATSONVILLE – Watsonville leaders have officially provided formal support for a Caltrans project seeking to bring its Complete Streets philosophy to the heart of the South County city.

The project encompasses about 7.5 miles of Highway 152 in Watsonville, beginning with the Highway 1 intersection and extending an estimated 2 miles east of the intersection with Holohan Road/College Road.

“I think this is a landmark piece of commitment on our part,” said Councilmember Lowell Hurst ahead of the Watsonville City Council vote of approval on Sept. 15 . “When you’re walking on Main Street and an 18-wheeler flies by you at 40 miles per hour … you think about safety.”

The $25 million budget for the project will be partly dedicated to upgrading basic transportation infrastructure in the region such as repaving portions of the roadway, replacing traffic signals and installing guardrails. But its main thrust invests in targeted safety improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians navigating the downtown area and its periphery.

According to the staff report, approximately 13,000 feet or, nearly 2.5 miles, of exclusive bikeways will be established from Green Valley Road to Freedom Boulevard, curb extensions will be installed and a reduction of travel lanes from four to three, with one lane in each direction and a middle turn lane, will be adopted on Main Street.

Before the vote, Mayor Ari Parker shared concerns that the lane reduction might cause drivers to spill into adjacent neighborhoods, as they attempt to beat the traffic resulting from fewer lanes. This traffic dispersion, she said, could filter into streets where schools are located, thereby endangering the safety of city youth.

“When Caltrans moves into its next phase … they will do a traffic study as well,” responded Watsonville Public Works Principal Engineer Murray Fontes. He said this study “will provide input as to what the impacts could be and will draw upon their resources as traffic specialists to assist us with identifying what could be done, what needs to be done and how we could do it.”

Fontes also shared that the city is in the process of performing a similar traffic study of its own for the Downtown Watsonville Specific Plan, which holds similar “walkability” and bicycle safety objectives. The downtown plan was initiated by the council in 2019 and is currently in its environmental impact report phase.

Last week’s approval from the city council will allow Caltrans to begin defining the project’s scope. Several phases of environmental review and opportunities for public input will follow in the coming years, with construction scheduled to begin by 2031, according to the staff report.

City staff assured the councilmembers that the project timeline from Caltrans will provide plenty of opportunity to prepare for potential impacts resulting from the sweeping changes. But for some, these changes can’t come soon enough.

According to the staff report, Watsonville had the highest pedestrian collision rate for cities with a population of 50,001 to 100,000 in 2015 and 2019.

“I’m one of those that (thinks), it’s too long. It’s a lifetime,” Mayor Pro Tempore Eduardo Montesino said after the staff presentation. “How can we help them speed up a process like this?”

Fontes said the 2031 funding for the project is tied to Caltrans’ own funding cycles, however, “they’ve indicated they could move it up, but they’re not promising.”

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