Over $1 million in federal funding going to road safety in Hollister

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION-TV)- On Friday, U.S. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren announced that that the City of Hollister will be getting a federal grant $1,080,000 for a road safety plan.

The funding is part of the department of transportation safe streets and roads for all grant program. People in Hollister say they need it.

"The roads are really terrible and there's a lot of people that commute in and out of town for work," said Carmen Castro Munoz who lives in Hollister

The city says they plan to use most of this money to conduct traffic studies around schools in the area.

"We've had a lot of a lot of speeding in those areas. And so this grant provides a great opportunity to take a step back and look at all possible solutions, as well as get a community input into those solutions," said David Mirrione, Hollister City Manager.

Mirrione went on to say studies are important because the city can be liable if an accident happens because of road signage if a study has not been conducted before the placement.

"The focus of the grant is, is to go through a planning process to identify improvements for safety with the ultimate goal of resulting in zero fatalities," said Mirrione.

As of now the city is in the process of working with the dot to complete contract agreements to come back to the city council for discussion and approval.

One school Mirrione says the traffic gets really bad during school hours is Hollister Dual Language Academy.

Now depending on how the planning goes, the roads around this school may look different. The studies will begin in Spring 2024.