WATSONVILLE—Work is now complete on a pedestrian, bike and traffic safety project on Harkins Slough Road.
The job, which is part of a city-wide project to address transportation safety issues, runs between South Green Valley Road and Ford Street and includes a swath of Walker Street.
Fresh lane striping, two lighted crosswalks, bike lanes and new signage are now in place along the heavily traveled corridor that runs behind the Overlook Center and the Target store. In addition, the lanes were slightly reconfigured to make room for the new bike lanes, which include green buffer zones defined by rows of white and green “delineators” on each side of the road.
“The work falls under the state’s Urban Greening Grant Program and is part of the Ramsay Park improvement project,” said Adolfo Gonzalez, traffic operations manager for the City of Watsonville. “One of the main goals is to make crosswalks as safe as possible. The crosswalk’s flashing beacons and new signs are a big improvement.”
The new crosswalks cross Harkins Slough Road, one at the intersection of Sunset Vista Drive and the other at the rear entrance to Ramsay Park.
“We’re learning to use some new equipment when applying the new thermoplastic striping,” Gonzalez said.
He added that crews will next start a similar project along Pennsylvania Drive between Main Street and the traffic circle at Clifford Drive.
