That is one of the discussions the City Council will have in the evening session (6 p.m.) of their meeting on Tuesday, February 3.  The City is looking to add a Class I Bike Path Project on the south side of Hollister Avenue between Pacific Oaks Road to Ellwood Elementary School.  This bike path will be in addition to the existing Class II bike lanes.

This project came about because there are many school children living south of Hollister who would enjoy the benefits of bicycling to school but do not because the existing bike lanes immediately adjacent to traffic lanes are not suited for younger bicyclists.

The City Council will be weighing in on which of the two design alternatives they prefer.  Alternative 1 consists of a “separated” Class I bike path. In this configuration the sidewalk would be separated from the Class I bike path with a raised curb. Alternative 2 is a combined multipurpose path with the Class I bike path and sidewalk at the same elevation. With this alternative, the bike path would be separated visually from the sidewalk using colored or stamped concrete, pavers, or pavement markings to clearly distinguish an area of the path for bicyclists and an area for pedestrians.

In 2012, the City received a $107,000 Measure A Alternative Transportation Program (ATP) grant to fund a portion of the preliminary engineering and design costs for the Hollister Class I Bikeway Project.  In September 2014, the City was awarded another ATP grant for $1,644,000 for construction of the project.

Construction of the project is scheduled for summer of 2015.  More information on the project can also be found here.