posted 09-23-2005 08:50 AM           

Recent rumblings around the community have postured that traffic in Grass Valley is bad and getting worse, with no relief in sight, and that the City is doing little to help the situation. I would like to dispel those rumors, as I believe that we are making significant headway on addressing the traffic challenges Grass Valley faces.
Increased traffic is closely linked to having a vibrant local economy and the growth that has been occurring throughout Western Nevada County. Road patterns, existing development and terrain restrict City options and increase its costs. With the expectations of our residents, developing short and long term transportation solutions for the community requires time, focused efforts and considerable funding.
Many City streets are connected with the State’s Golden Center Freeway and its frontage roads. Any improvements that impact State roadways must be approved by Caltrans and must address Caltrans concerns. This adds additional time.
Traffic from the schools complicates local traffic throughout the school year. Likewise, numerous special events at the fairgrounds and in downtown create additional traffic challenges. And potential traffic improvements in the Historic Downtown area (i.e. West Main, Mill, South Auburn, Neal and Richardson) are sensitive and quite limited.
That being the case I will explain what the City is doing to address both short and long term fixes.
Short term:
In August 2005, the City Council approved the Traffic Congestion Relief (TCR) Program which has been developed to provide quick fixes to traffic trouble spots throughout the City. This Program has already been successful in addressing the lane alignment on East Main in front of the Post Office.
Here are a number of projects that are scheduled or have been completed:
-Westbound Idaho Maryland at East Main was re-striped to extend the left turn lane and shared through / right turn lanes to improve traffic flow. We are also evaluating the use of vacant land for parking in the Hills Flat area to eliminate on-street parking to facilitate the installation of additional lanes.
-Dedicated right turn lane will be installed on westbound East Main onto Sierra College Drive.
-Dedicated right turn lane is also being installed from West Berryhill onto East Main.
-Widening on East Main, in front of Maria’s Restaurant, is planned to improve the stacking on the westbound lane of the recently installed Bennett / East Main traffic signal. Many other suggested improvements are also being analyzed for implementation.
-Big One Appliance will be installing improvements to the Brunswick Road / Sutton Way intersection.
-Weaver Auto has begun design of a traffic signal for the intersection of the northbound freeway ramps / Idaho Maryland Road.
-Morgan Ranch is designing a traffic signal for Sierra College Drive / Ridge Road.
-Funds have been budgeted to enhance the traffic signal at South Auburn and Main Street to improve its functioning, capacity and appearance.
-City is finalizing the projects and cost estimates needed to update its local street mitigation fees that are charged to all new development projects.
Longer term:
-Constructing the interchange at Dorsey Drive is a crucial project to alleviate congestion, improve traffic flow and access in northern Grass Valley. Lack of State funding and escalating construction costs continue to affect the scope and timing of this project. NCTC and the City are now exploring options for securing the funding for either to construct a partial interchange and/or secure the entire funding for the project.
-The City has recently assumed responsibility for guiding the plans and construction of the Grass Valley Corridor Improvement Project (GVCIP) from NCTC.
-Traffic calming continues to be a huge demand. As part of its Traffic Calming Program to maintain neighborhood livability, the City has installed speed humps on many residential streets. Other traffic calming requests are currently under consideration by the Traffic Safety Review Committee.
-Joint meetings with the County Board of Supervisors to address common areas of roadways for short and long term fixes.
-The City continues to support and incorporate the use of transit, bicycles and trails as alternatives to vehicles. For example, the City will be expending a $500,000 “Safe Routes to School” grant to improve pedestrian access around Nevada Union.

These are just some of the many traffic projects the City is working on. As I mentioned earlier Traffic is a challenging issue that requires the City’s focused efforts. The City is committed to making this happen. The traffic problems that we are facing today did not occur overnight, and will not be solved overnight, but we are making progress.

Gerard Tassone Mayor-City of Grass Valley