Zion/Sacramento Pedestrian & Bike Mobility Plan
The Nevada County Transportation Commission (NCTC) in coordination with the City of Nevada City hired GHD to conduct a planning study and facilitate public outreach necessary to analyze potential improvements and develop recommendations to improve pedestrian and bicycle mobility, safety, and access to schools while balancing multimodal needs in the Zion Street/Sacramento Street Corridor from the intersection of Ridge Road/Nevada City Highway/Zion Street to the Sacramento Street/S. Pine Street intersection.
This study will also identify accessibility and connectivity improvements to three schools which include nearby Deer Creek Elementary School (accessed from Doane Road), Seven Hills Middle School (accessed from Brock Road and Reward Street), and Forest Charter High School (accessed from Zion Street and Searls Avenue).
Background
Improving the walkability, bikeability, and safety in Zion Street and Sacramento Street corridors in Nevada City has been a long-standing priority for the City of Nevada City. The Zion Street/ Sacramento Street Corridor is the primary access route from residential properties to three schools, commercial destinations, and recreational amenities within the City limits. This corridor also serves as a link between the Downtown Historic District and Seven Hills Business District.
NCTC secured funding to initiate a corridor study to analyze cost-effective improvements on Zion Street from Ridge Road to the intersection of Sacramento Street and South Pine Street. The intent of this study will be to inform and provide content to develop a future Active Transportation Planning (ATP) grant application (https://catc.ca.gov/programs/active-transportation-program) .
Public Outreach
The consultant in coordination with NCTC and the City of Nevada City will facilitate public outreach necessary to analyze potential pedestrian and bicycle mobility, safety, and school access improvements on the Zion Street and Sacramento Street Corridor.
The public outreach plan for the study will include extensive engagement with the nearby schools, residents, businesses, and disadvantaged communities to identify improvements that meet the context and need of the community.
A workshop is scheduled for March 25 from 4:30-6:30 pm at Forest Charter School multi-purpose room. Please stop by during that time frame and give your feedback! If you cannot attend in person, visit the virtual project website at http://www.tinyurl.com/zion-sac-mobility-plan to provide input about your experience traveling on through the corridor and share your thoughts on conceptual improvements to be implemented.
Project Schedule
The project is anticipated to span a 13-month period from inception to the final report. During the development of the study, the project will be separated into the following phases:
Data Collection and Existing Conditions – Collect information on how residents move through the corridor, identify physical constraints and opportunities, on and off street parking availability, the amount of vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic.
Community and Stakeholder Input – Two community workshops are schedule along with individual stakeholder meetings to better understand biking and walking challenges in the corridor and gain insight on solutions to address these issues.
Recommendations Development – Based on community input and stakeholder input, the team will develop conceptual engineering improvements.
Draft Plan – The Draft Plan will summarize the process and recommendations for presentation to the City of Nevada City Council and NCTC.
Final Plan Development and Adoption – The Final Plan will incorporate feedback provided on the Draft Plan and will be presented to the City of Nevada City Council and NCTC for adoption.
