School Road Complete Streets - 0P220

This project will provide multimodal facilities across the School Road interchange. Small sections of sidewalk are proposed along the north side of the interchange to close the sidewalk gap in Caltrans right-of-way. There is a gap in the overall sidewalk network that will remain after implementation of this project from just inside the eastern Caltrans right-of-way boundary to the roundabout. A retaining wall would be required to fill this gap and will require coordination with Humboldt County in a future project. Class II bike lanes are proposed to connect the roundabout to the class III bikeway. The work on both sides of the interchange will require a no fee encroachment permit from the County to conform to existing facilities. Ramp terminals will be tightened and slip lanes will be removed to slow turning vehicles and reduce crossing distances. The initial proposal includes lane separation systems to tighten the ramps to promote driver compliance, but alternative treatments may be investigated such as curb, dike, roadway removal, flex posts, etc. The purpose of this project is to improve the safety and mobility for multimodal users. This project is needed because the School Road interchange lacks multimodal facilities and presents a barrier between the Hammond Trail and McKinleyville.