It will cost almost $150,000 to do the necessary engineering, design work, and environmental studies to fulfill a Manteca City Council decision to rip out the landscaping bulbs in the 100 block of North Main Street in downtown.
The council will consider hiring BKF Engineers to do the necessary work when they meet tonight at 7 o’clock at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center.
The $145,543 for the proposed work plus a $4,366 set aside for contingencies is only a tip of the ice berg.
Staff has warned it could cost as much as $1 million to remove the bulb-outs, resurface the pavement, modify existing traffic signal loops and restripe the 100 block of North Main Street.
In comparison, in the coming months Manteca will repave almost a mile of Main Street from Yosemite Avenue to Atherton Drive for $1.8 million.
Funding for the 100 block of North Main is coming from the city’s share of state gas tax that is used to maintain streets. A federal grant is covering the rest of the work on Main Street from Yosemite to Atherton.
In April the council unanimously voted to remove the remaining six landscaping bulbs in favor of a redo of the block.
The bulb removal is part of a plan to essentially double the capacity of the block to handle southbound traffic by adding a second lane.
When done the block will have:
uNo landscaping bulb-outs left. Originally there were eight but two had been removed since they were all installed in 2005 due to them being struck by numerous motorists turning into the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot and pulling out of the alley next to Manteca Bedquarters.
uNarrower travel lanes at 10 feet wide compared to the current 12 feet. There will be two southbound lanes and one northbound lane.
uMedians will be relocated and made narrower to allow for more vehicles in left turn pockets onto Center Street and East Yosemite Avenue.
uBike lanes on both sides of the street.
uNo on-street parking.
The addition of the bike lanes allows the project to comply with state law that mandates inclusion of non-motorized uses in all street designs.
The proposed lane configuration and loss of on street parking exceeds what would be considered maintenance activities that are excluded under CEQA because they would result in substantial changes to traffic patterns. That is why an environmental review is required.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
