The San Luis Obispo County Public Works Department plans to seek permission from the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 9 to begin applying for state grants for much-needed improvements along Vineyard Drive in Templeton.
“What we are effectively doing is asking the board if it is OK to seek funding through grants for the actual implementation of the plan,” SLO County Public Works Transportation Manager Joshua Roberts said.
With the road bisecting most of Templeton, Vineyard Elementary School and the Trader Joe’s shopping area are impacted by the high traffic on Vineyard Drive. The road congestion, Roberts said, in turn creates unsafe crossing routes for students, parents, and drivers who use the road daily.
The plan aims to alleviate some of the congestion by potentially introducing new sidewalks and bike lanes along Vineyard Drive for pedestrians and bicyclists as well as alternative crossing routes to avoid constant stops for vehicles along the road.
However, Roberts told New Times that these solutions will require more grant funding before county Public Works can more fully understand the scale of what is possible.
“With the board already giving us the thumbs up, we are now basically just scoping out and seeing what projects we can do once we get access to funds,” Roberts said. “It’s not going to be something where people notice a big change once we get the approval, but it will move the project forward into its next steps.”
Once approved, Public Works will work with the California State Association of Counties Grants Initiative as needed to plan and prepare its grant applications. That process involves applying, being denied, and reapplying to different grants, Roberts said.
According to Roberts, this is not the first time Public Works has turned to grants for Vineyard Drive improvements. In 2022, a grant from San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) funded public outreach, statistical analysis, and potential solutions for the roadway’s issues.
That funding and support from SLOCOG, Roberts said, was instrumental in developing a plan for Vineyard Drive’s more pressing concerns and also its long-term future.
“Working with SLOCOG really helped us get this project off the ground, so we are hoping we can continue that momentum once we start applying and hopefully receiving these grants,” he said.
Roberts hopes that whatever funding the county receives enables Public Works to fully implement the Vineyard Drive plan, rather than just portions of it.
“Assuming the board approves our request, it will allow us to seek potential private funding to help implement different parts of the plan,” Roberts said. “However, we won’t know how much we are looking and what we are looking for until we scope out those grants.” Δ
This article appears in Jan 4-14, 2024.