A proposed road safety demonstration project in Los Osos has been funded by the county’s transportation agency, one of six grant proposals to be given awards.
The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) announced the winners of its “FY 2025/26 Bike and Pedestrian Safety Pop-Up Demonstration Grants,” a program funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety.
Earlier this year, SLOCOG sent out a notice seeking proposals for the grant program, looking for easy and inexpensive project proposals designed to increase safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.
A project for the intersection of Pecho Valley Road and Rodman Drive was awarded $1,000.
Others receiving grants were: San Miguel on “L” Street $6,000; Oceano at 17th and Werner $2,100; and the City of Paso Robles $6,000 on North River Road. Two others were listed as “provisional awards pending further info.” They are Strongtowns SLO for $500 and SLO County Public Works for $1,500.
One of the people who submitted the Los Osos project, Julia Wallerce, explained that she and Deborah Howe of the Los Osos Community Advisory Council (LOCAC) put the proposal together.
Essentially, it’s a crosswalk, she explained, that is going into a spot on a busy road where there is none.
She said the residents of Cabrillo Estates had expressed concerns because the entrance to that neighborhood at Rodman Drive has no crosswalk for safely getting to the trail system of the state park across Pecho Valley Road.
“The speeds are high,” she said, especially for cars coming downhill from Montaña de Oro. The road is posted 40 mph.
And, “There’s no sidewalk,” she added. “People make a run for it.”
LOCAC had commissioned a study to look at the town’s circulation and identify places where safety improvements are needed, and this stretch of Pecho Valley Road was one of them.
Wallerce said the project involves painting the crosswalk stripes in paint that isn’t meant to last, unlike real crosswalk paint, which is rubberized and made to last a long time.
She said their project should last a week, but might be shorter. It will include signage to warn drivers there’s a crosswalk ahead, barriers and traffic cones.
They will monitor the situation and see if it slows traffic down.
Another goal is to see if the area becomes safer, will it encourage more people to walk and ride bikes?
“We want to see if people could cross here, they would walk more,” Wallerce said. “It’s a very busy dog walking area too.”
The area is also popular for horseback riders, who follow a trail that starts at nearby stables and winds uphill and through the lower streets of Cabrillo Estates and crosses into the state park trails through the dunes.
The goal is “to let motorists know this is a neighborhood,” she said.
Also, there are several school children that live in the area and their parents drive them to school because of the lack of sidewalk and safe crossing.
She said they will be putting in the crosswalk on May 6, which is fittingly National Walk and Ride to School Day.
SLOCOG’s Programming & Project Delivery manager, John DiNunzio, said, “These community-led projects represent meaningful, place-based efforts to improve safety for people walking and biking across San Luis Obispo County.
“We also want to extend our appreciation to the Road to Zero Committee and our regional partners for your continued collaboration and support in advancing traffic safety initiatives.”
He added that many of the projects would be in place in May, which is Bike Month.
All of the projects are intended to be short-term and temporary, designed to draw attention to unsafe situations that are concerning to residents and agencies.
Should they prove to be effective, they could become permanent additions to the streetscape but that would take a separate process and funding.
