Joe Mickey photo.
Traffic signal at Laurel and Main tagged as top funding priority
By Advocate Staff
The Mendocino Council of Governments, which serves as a regional clearinghouse for state transportation moneys, has sent good news to city officials: Out of 18 proposals for the next round of bicycle and pedestrian funding, projects in Fort Bragg earned rankings of first, third and fifth by the MCOG Technical Advisory Committee.
The committee's top-ranked funding priority is installation of a long-sought traffic signal at the corner of Main and Laurel streets.
Vice Mayor Michele White, the city's representative to the MCOG Board of Directors, announced the project rankings at the June 20 downtown revitalization workshop, conducted jointly by the City Council and the Planning Commission.
Her announcement was timely, coinciding with a discussion by downtown property and business owners over a perceived difficulty of getting thousands of Skunk Train visitors to shop both sides of Main Street.
Earlier in the joint meeting, community planners and businesspersons were also critical of the condition of sidewalks and the lack of curb cuts, wheel chair ramps and general access for persons with disabilities: The third- and fifth-ranked funding applications submitted by the city are proposals to replace sidewalks at various locations throughout the city and to install wheel chair ramps and curb cuts.
Public Works Director Dave Goble, who is a member of the MCOG Technical Advisory Committee, told the council last Monday night that the rankings do not guarantee funding, but that funding looks likely. He credited councilmembers Michele White and Dan Gjerde for helping to prepare thorough applications, which included letters of support, photographs and other documentation.
"It's clearly evident why we got such a high ranking," he said, adding that he may solicit Gjerde and White to help prepare future project applications.
The committee's recommendations will be presented to the MCOG Board of Directors in September for funding in 2002, Goble said. The city's three applications total just more than $800,000; the Laurel and Main signal will cost roughly $200,000; the sidewalk repairs, $250,000; and the wheel chair ramps and curb cuts, more than $400,000.
Goble said he plans to submit two more applications for the next round of MCOG street repair funding, which will focus on repairs to Oak and Franklin streets.
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