PG streets to get facelift in coming years

The Highway 68 corridor in Pacific Grove could be getting a facelift in the coming years. On Wednesday night, the city council voted unanimously to add sidewalks and bike lanes on Forrest Avenue and Sunset Drive.

The meeting came after a year-long study of the stretch of Highway 68 that runs through PG.

The 190-page report looked at various intersections and streets and what’s making them particularly dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists.

Bob Fisher has been living in Pacific Grove for five years and he has seen it all walking around the city.

“By walking around town, you do see some close calls sometimes,” Fisher said.

He says it’s because some drivers don’t respect the speed limit.

“I have heard stories of people being hit by cars. In some cases, older people, we cross the street slower so, you know, the traffic needs to slow down,” Fisher said.

Fast cars, missing sidewalks and narrow shoulders are some of the issues the city is looking at.

“Maybe it was just me, eight cars wouldn’t stop for someone waiting to go across the sidewalk,” council member Daniel Miller said.

The study found 10 crashes in the corridor between 2004 and 2014, where two people walking were killed.

“We’ve been concerned for a long time that the Highway 68 corridor through Pacific Grove is not functioning well as a local street,” said Pacific Mayor Pro Tempore Robert Huitt.

And after receiving some 500 responses from the public, the city is ready to move forward with the plan.

“The community consensus and everyone working on the project agreed that the top priority is to complete sidewalks where they don’t exist,” Huitt said.

But the city says the study is only the beginning of fixing the problem.

“As Cal Trans pointed out, the way they put it, if it isn’t planned, it doesn’t get build,” Huitt said.

There’s still a long way to go, and the city says getting funding, especially for some of the big projects could take years.