Caution poles designed to slow traffic at a busy pedestrian crossing is one example of a pop-up safety project. SLOCOG is taking applications now for its 2025/2026 mini-grant program. Photo courtesy SLOCOG
Do you know of a potentially unsafe traffic situation for pedestrians or bicyclists and have an idea how it might be fixed for not a lot of money?
The county transportation agency has a grant program designed to help you become a “Regional Road Safety Champion.”
The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) is taking applications now through Wednesday, March 25 for its “2025/2026 Pop-Up Safety Demonstration Mini-Grant Program,” funded in part by the California Office of Traffic Safety, SLOCOG announced.
They have grants of up to $6,000 to “support community-led temporary pedestrian and bicycle safety demonstrations across the region.”
SLOCOG is the countywide agency that handles funding for transportation projects in SLO County’s cities and the unincorporated areas.
The purpose, according to SLOCOG, is to “test before we invest,” or to try out simple inexpensive potential solutions to safety problems.
It’s also an opportunity for SLOCOG to build up support for an upcoming vote in November on a 0.5% sales tax increase that would go to repairing and maintaining local road projects.
The pop-up safety grants are for temporary projects and events — one-day, two-day, up to a week in duration, and can include things like pop-up crosswalks, curb extensions, day-lighting treatments, school-area circulation pilots, and protected bike lane demonstrations, all supported by community engagement and data collection, SLOCOG said.
SLOCOG held an online informational meeting Feb. 26 that has been posted on its website, see www.slocog.org.
According to SLOCOG, “Each project will install temporary treatments such as curb extensions, high-visibility crosswalks, or short-term bikeway elements to help residents experience proposed improvements in real-world conditions.
“All demonstrations will include simple data collection and evaluation, allowing SLOCOG and local agencies to learn from user experience and support future applications for permanent safety improvements,”
Grant applications will be reviewed by SLOCOG’s Regional Road to Zero Committee. Winning projects will be implemented this spring and summer making for a pretty quick turnaround.
Information is available on the SLOCOG website at: www.slocog.org/programs/highways-streets-roads/safety/road-zero-pop-safety-demonstrations.
(And if anyone actually wins one of these grants, contact Estero Bay News at: neil@esterobaynews.com when it’s ready to roll out.)
