The City of Grover Beach continues to advance street improvement projects in the beginning of 2021, furthering a longstanding Major City Goal identified by the Grover Beach City Council. On Monday, January 25, the Council provided direction for moving forward with the final design for the South Oak Park Boulevard Improvement Project covering a six-block stretch of this major roadway from Grand Avenue to Mentone Avenue.

“The City Council continues to hear from residents that street improvements are a high priority for our community,” said Grover Beach Mayor Jeff Lee. “We are committed to investing in our local infrastructure with street repairs remaining a key goal for the Council. We are making major progress in fixing our streets while also improving accessibility for pedestrians and bicyclists.”

The South Oak Park Boulevard Improvement Project has been designed as a complete streets project. This means that its design and operation will enable safe use and support mobility for all users, including drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and others. The project aims to not only repair the pavement on the roadway but also allow for bike lanes, parking areas, sidewalks, and the existing landscaped median through reducing travel lanes to one in each direction. Improvements will include the addition of a buffered bike lane with green paint through the intersections in each direction with re-striping and better signage to improve bicycle accessibility on this roadway. City staff is finalizing the project design and related environmental analysis with construction anticipated in the next fiscal year (2021-22).

In addition to the South Oak Park project, other street projects are currently underway through the Measure K-14 Street Rehabilitation Program. Concrete improvements have been completed on North 8th and South 9th Streets, with roadway excavation on these streets to begin in the first week of February. While this area is being paved, a new water main will also be installed. While this will result in a temporary interruption of water service for customers on Rockaway Avenue between South 8th Street and South 9th Street, it will bring long-term benefits to the Grover Beach community. This project also includes rehabilitation of 14th Street both north and south of Grand Avenue.

Additionally, design is nearing completion for improvements to Manhattan Avenue (South 13th to South Oak Park Boulevard), Seabright Avenue (South 13th to S. Oak Park Boulevard), Trouville Avenue (South 10th to South Oak Park Boulevard), South 10th (Rockaway Avenue to Ramona Avenue) and South 11th (West Grand Avenue to Longbranch Avenue). Construction of this street repair project is expected to begin in April 2021.

Approved by Grover Beach voters in 2014, the Measure K-14 program authorizes the City to issue bond funds for the completion of local street rehabilitation and repair projects. To date, $28 million in funds have been mobilized to improve transportation in Grover Beach with over 200 blocks of local streets repaired.

“Our Council has provided strong leadership in improving our local streets and staff have done a fantastic job of taking action to get this accomplished,” said City Manager Matthew Bronson. “We will continue to prioritize street repairs for the benefit of Grover Beach residents, businesses, and visitors.”