Ed Smith

The board meeting focused on public safety concerns at specific road intersections, the approval of consent agenda items, and a formal resolution of appreciation for a principal transportation engineer for his twelve years of service. Additionally, the board received a presentation on the 2026 Regional Transportation Plan, which includes a long-range outlook to the year 2050, funding strategies, and project goals across various categories such as access, safety, environmental stewardship, and economic vitality.

The 2026 Monterey County Regional Transportation Plan serves as a long-range roadmap for transportation funding priorities and regional collaboration, extending its horizon to 2050. It is structured around policy, financial, and action elements, with core goals focusing on access and mobility, safety and health, environmental stewardship, equity, and economic vitality. The plan defines both financially feasible (constrained) and unfunded (unconstrained) projects, incorporates comprehensive public participation, and is supported by an Environmental Impact Report to guide future development and improvements to the regional transportation network.

This document outlines the first phase of the Monterey County Active Transportation Plan Update, a strategic roadmap aimed at making Monterey County safer, more accessible, and more connected for active transportation users of all ages and abilities. The plan focuses on enhancing existing walking, biking, and rolling networks, identifying new connections, and prioritizing key projects. Core areas include community engagement, development of pedestrian and bicycle networks, and conceptual planning for improvements such as bicycle facilities, pedestrian infrastructure, recreational trails, and educational programming. The initiative seeks to address needs such as slower vehicle speeds, improved city connections, increased visibility, and ADA accessibility.

The committee reviewed the North Monterey County Safe Routes to School Plan, which focuses on improving safety and reducing traffic for students biking and walking to schools in unincorporated North County. Additionally, the committee provided feedback on two proposed Active Transportation Program grant projects: the Gateway for Monterey Bay project and the Soledad Safe Routes to Schools project. A project overview and results were presented for the North Monterey County Regional Transportation Vulnerability Assessment. The committee also received a legislative update on various bills concerning electric bikes and pedestrian and bicycle facilities and discussed concerns regarding traffic safety, speeding, and infrastructure maintenance.

The committee discussed updates on several transportation initiatives, including the Pajaro/Watsonville Multimodal Station Project and the Highway 1 Elkhorn Slough Corridor Climate Resiliency project. A key focus was the Central Coast Rail Corridor, where members considered supporting pilot passenger rail service for the 2028 Olympics. Furthermore, the committee reviewed the current transit options at the Salinas Train Station and received an update on the progress of the Salinas Rail Kick Start project, specifically regarding design coordination and operations scenarios.