The Coast News (Page 1)

A6 RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
OCT. 19, 2012
Contract awarded for Highland improvements
By Bianca Kaplanek
After approximately
four years of discussions and
more than a year of planning,
a project aimed at
slowing traffic and improving
pedestrian and bicyclist
safety at the eastern gateway
to the city is moving forward.
City Council at the Oct.
10 meeting awarded a
$285,780 contract to PAL
General Engineering Inc. for
improvements on Highland
and Lomas Santa Fe drives.
“It’s a great project,”
Councilman Mike Nichols
said. “This project has had a
pretty long history. It started
off with a much more comprehensive
traffic-calming
program.
“(The residents) didn’t
quite want that much work
done so we listened,” he
said. “We got a project
together here that I think
truly is going to calm traffic,
add parking and get that
sidewalk on Highland that
everybody’s wanted.”
For years area residents
expressed concerns about
speeding cars and a lack of
sidewalks along the roads.
Council began to address
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Area residents have long complained about the lack of a sidewalk along
the west side of Highland Drive, next to the golf course. Council members
recently awarded a contract for an improvement project that will add
a curb, gutter and sidewalk to this section of the roadway.
Photo by Bianca Kaplanek
the project in 2008 and identified
funding in 2010.
City staff developed
conceptual plans before hir-
ing a consultant in October
2010 to develop design alternatives.
In April 2011 plans were
presented that included
temporarily restriping
Lomas Santa Fe to reduce it
from four lanes to two from
Las Banderas Drive to
Highland.
“We took the project to
the homeowner association
in the east side of the city,”
City Engineer Mo Sammak
said. “It was very clear to us
that the community did not
want to see any work on
Lomas Santa Fe so we
removed the work on Lomas
Santa Fe.”
Although council members
supported the lane
reduction, they unanimously
approved a revised plan at
the March 14 meeting that
eliminated that traffic-calming
element.
The project was advertised
for one month beginning
this past August and 11
bids ranging from $285,780
to $461,034.90 were
received, with PAL’s being
the lowest.
Plans on Highland from
Sun Valley Road to Lomas
Santa Fe include adding a
curb, gutter and sidewalk
along the west side next to
the golf course; widening
the east side to add a bike
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lane south of the San
Dieguito Park entrance;
replacing an asphalt berm
on the east side with a concrete
curb; and restriping to
add a two-way left-turn
median lane.
Painted medians and
bike lanes will be added on
Highland from Lomas Santa
Fe to Via La Senda.
A raised median island
and curb ramp pop-outs will
be built on Lomas Santa Fe
west of Highland.
Ladder-type crosswalks
will be added on Highland
at the intersections of Sun
Valley, Lomas Santa Fe and
Via La Senda.
If funding allows, a
retaining wall may be built
west of the proposed sidewalk
on Highland.
Pavement slurry sealing
and raised medians on
Highland between Uno
Verde Court and Via La
Senda may also be added.
With a 15 percent contingency
of $43,000 and
$29,000 for inspections and
testing the total estimated
project cost is $357,780.
The city has $403,100
available from stimulus,
state and TransNet funds.
RideFACT
helps
seniors
get mobile
COAST CITIES —
Facilitating Access to
C o o r d i n a t e d
Transportation (FACT)
inaugurated RideFACT, a
regional transportation
service for seniors Oct. 11.
FACT is a non-profit formed
in 2005 to meet the transportation
needs of seniors,
persons with disabilities,
and low-income individuals.
RideFACT was implemented
as a pilot project in
January 2012 in a limited
service area, and in July
2012 it was expanded to all
cities in the county, as well
as Ramona and Spring
Valley. It is a service that
enables seniors to travel
between any of the cities
for affordable fares ranging
from $2.50 to $10, for the
first time in the county’s
history. FACT operates the
service through its transportation
brokerage, which
uses nonprofit and for profit
transportation services;
the brokerage allows FACT
to shop for the lowest prices
available before selecting
vendors for each trip. FACT
is using County TransNet
Senior Mini-Grants to
administer RideFACT. In
the next year the service
will be expanded beyond
the cities to non-urban and
some rural communities.
RideFACT operates
seven days a week; reservations
are accepted on a
first-come, first-serve basis
Monday through Friday
between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Trips must be requested
one to seven days ahead of
the travel date. To schedule
a ride or inquire about
transportation options,
please call FACT at (760)
754-1252 or (888) 924-3228.
FACT operates as a
mobility management center
that assists callers with
finding existing transportation
services in their communities.
When existing services
are not available or appropriate,
FACT will book the
trip through RideFACT. For
more information on FACT,
visit factsd.org.
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