Hollister aiming to add roundabouts on Tres Pinos Road

Hollister is aiming to make a heavily used road safer for students after school.

The city says hundreds of teens walk through Tres Pinos Road to get home or hang out at the end of the day, congesting the streets and causing potentially dangerous situations.

“What we heard a lot from the public is people drive too fast, they speed, drivers don’t respect the pedestrians or bicyclists especially near the schools,” said Hollister Development Services Program Manager Mary Paxton. “There’s some concerns about the behavior of some of the students not looking when they enter an intersection.”

The city did a study just to see how busy the Tres Pinos corridor can be. They found that as many as 500 students walk through every day after school.

Hollister now wants to add improvements to the walking-biking experience for all ages, but primarily students. That includes new bike lanes, new crosswalks and adding a couple of roundabouts on Tres Pinos, one on Ladd Lane and another on Rancho Drive.

“Improve safety for people walking and bicycling, also to improve public health by removing barriers for people to walk and bike,” said Paxton.

Removing barriers in part means educating the public about the benefits of active transport. The city plans to hold a bicycle rodeos and walking school buses to encourage students to get out and walk.

The project will cost a little over $4 million to complete. If it gets final approval from the city council, construction will likely start in 2021 and finish the next year.

The city council authorized a grant application in June for the California Transportation Cycle 4 Active Transportation Program, which provides funding for local projects from the state and federal governments.

One of the issues that came up was the city’s required money match was higher than anticipated, amounting to about $1.5 million of general funds. The council must now decide whether to commit to the project or withdraw the grant application.

The council was scheduled to vote on this issue Monday night, but they were short a member. They now plan on taking another look at the issue at a future meeting.