NATIONAL CITY, Calif. (KGTV) - The city of National City set a record in the 2019 Fiscal Year for the amount of grant money they received to pay for road upgrade projects.
According to information provided to 10News, National City got around $22 million for what they call "Active Transportation" projects.
"If we don't get these grants, we're basically just doing roadway maintenance for the next year," says City Engineer Steve Manganiello.
The grants will pay for a long list of projects focused on improving bike lanes and pedestrian walkways throughout National City. This comes as cities all across San Diego work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by emphasizing alternative forms of transporation over driving.
"We need to give people that don't have acces to vehicles a safe network to bike, to walk and to use transit," says Manganiello. "I think we're well on our way."
The city won 14 competitive grants in fiscal year 2018-19, which ends July 1. City Manager Brad Raulston says a unique combination of cooperation, need and preparation made it happen.
"We're the right size in terms of being small enough that we collaborate well," says Raulston. "We all work closely together. But we're also big enough that we have the resources to make matching funds."
"Although we're a relatively small city, we are big in the amount of infrastructure and capital needs," says Raulston.
The grants they won and the projects funded include:
- Bayshore Bikeway - $5.4 million (Caltrans)
- Central Community Bicycle Corridor - $1.3 million (Caltrans)
- Citywide Bicycle Wayfinding Signage - $940,000 (Caltrans)
- Citywide Traffic Signal Upgrades - $1.4 million (Caltrans)
- 8th Street & Roosevelt Avenue Corridors - $5.2 million (Caltrans); $2.1 million (SANDAG)
- 30th Street/Sweetwater Road Bicycle Corridor - $2.5 million (SANDAG)
- Division Street Bicycle Corridor - $310,000 (SANDAG)
- National City Boulevard Inter-City Bicycle Corridor - $390,000 (SANDAG)
- Citywide Bicycle Parking Enhancements - $50,000 (SANDAG)
- 24th Street Transit Oriented Development Overlay - $500,000 (SANDAG)
- Waterfront to Homefront Connectivity Study - $200,00 (SANDAG)
- Paradise Creek Park Expansion - $640,000 & $910,000 (California Natural Resouces Agency)
That money will be on top $30 million worth of projects the city has completed over the last 5 years. They hope to complete another $30 million in the next three.
"Fiscal Year 2020 is going to be the year of design," says Manganiello. "Fiscal Year 2021 is going to be the year of construction."
