New Times / News

Bike trail gets nearly $1 million

Kylie Mendonca

The city of San Luis Obispo won an $890,000 grant from the California Department of Transportation to help complete the Railroad Bicycle Trail, which will eventually link Cal Poly with downtown.

The SLO Bicycle Coalition helped to get the grant, which will fund a portion from the Amtrak station to Marsh Street. The executive director for the coalition, Adam Fukushima, said that this is the third time SLO has received this grant, and to his knowledge, it is the only city to get it three years in a row.

The project started several years ago with the Jennifer Street Bridge and the paved trail, which runs along the railroad between the train station and Orcutt Road. Funding has been the only major obstacle to completing the project, but Fukushima said it has been designed so that each portion is functional on its own. Recently, the city funded several segments of the trail with help from the community and SLO’s Rotary Club, which will eventually connect Cal Poly to downtown. With the grant, the only piece left without funding is the section between Highway 101 and Marsh Street