Quick Take:

At 81 pages, the Active Transportation Plan is a voluminous mix of survey results, maps, commuting statistics and safety reports. It identifies two dozen “high priority” projects among 70 projects in all.

A plan that sets the agenda for how Scotts Valley can make improvements to its bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in coming years won city council approval Wednesday night.

The Active Transportation Plan updates a similar roadmap the city finalized in 2012 and is meant to help the city in future priority-setting and decision-making. At 81 pages, it’s a voluminous mix of survey results, maps, commuting statistics and safety reports.

The recommended infrastructure projects — which city leaders will need to find funding for and approve individually down the road — aim to make the city safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Some also will need approval — and possibly financial support — from CalTrans, which awarded Scotts Valley funding to help craft the plan in 2019.

Though there were no fatal pedestrian or bike crashes in the 10-year study period, the plan’s authors reported dozens of collisions in that time.

Between 2008 and 2018, there were 23 pedestrian-involved collisions in Scotts Valley, four of which caused severe injuries. The majority of those happened on the city’s two main roads, Mount Hermon Road and Scotts Valley Drive, according to the analysis.

Over the 10-year study period, there were 35 bicycle-related injury collisions, four of which caused severe injuries. There were eight bike crashes each in 2009 and 2014.

Concept plans for separating bike, pedestrian and vehicle traffic on Scotts Valley Drive
Concept plans for separating bike, pedestrian and vehicle traffic on Scotts Valley Drive include a tree-lined median or pylons. In these two scenarios, the number of lanes for vehicle traffic would remain the same. Credit: Courtesy city of Scotts Valley

Among its 70 projects, the plan proposes creating lanes separated by trees or pylons for bike and pedestrian travel to improve safety on thoroughfares including Scotts Valley Drive, Mount Hermon and Bluebonnet Lane.

It also proposes a variety of intersection improvements citywide, with flashing stop signs, high-visibility or raised crosswalks, larger “refuge island” medians and crossing signs in the road, among other upgrades

Improving sidewalks on key roads to make them continuous, accessible and more pedestrian-friendly is also part of the plan. Besides Scotts Valley Drive, Mount Hermon and Bluebonnet, sidewalk improvements are targeted for Lockewood Lane, Kings Village Road, Bean Creek Road, El Pueblo Road and Vine Hill School Road.

Also included in the plan is a proposal to create a bike and pedestrian crossing on Granite Creek Road over Highway 17.

Other goals include creating more shared pedestrian- and bike-only paths. Among the areas recommended for these paths are the east side of Bean Creek Road, along Carbonera Creek and between Lockhart Gulch Road and the Skypark neighborhood. “Shared use paths are recommended in this plan to create new connections to existing or planned neighborhoods, provide new recreational facilities, and expand existing sidewalks to allow bike and pedestrian access,” the plan reads.

People who participated in community engagement sessions throughout the creation of the transportation plan also expressed a desire for more bike parking around the city. The plan offers multiple ways the city can have more short-term and long-term bike parking near bikes, transit centers, schools and other resources.

The Active Transportation Plan identifies 24 “high priority” projects. Scroll through this 2-page summary to read about them:

Follow Isabella Cueto on: Twitter. Isabella joins the Lookout team as a government accountability reporter, building on her experience covering local government for The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C.Before...