A pilot project in Castroville shows how roads can be safer for North County students.

Merritt Street is the main thoroughfare in Castroville, connecting commuters from Salinas to Santa Cruz County. It backs up often – further exacerbated by a major project now under construction to make the roadway more pedestrian-friendly – so drivers look to side roads to save minutes or seconds.

Those roads include Geil and Seymour streets through neighborhoods where children walk to Castroville Elementary School. Many intersections leading up to the school are wide and not controlled by a four-way stop, which can make it challenging for pedestrians to cross.

A demonstration project is underway along those roads, between Cooper and Salinas streets, featuring curb extensions, traffic circles and crosswalks, with the goal to assist pedestrians and slow down traffic.

The North Monterey County Safe Routes to School Plan was developed by the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, Ecology Action and the County of Monterey, to recommend infrastructure improvements and other projects that aid students walking and biking to North County schools. It was funded by a $665,000 Caltrans grant as well as $127,000 from Measure X. This year, the public voted on which projects they would like implemented, divvying $1 million allocated to the program.

Planner Amelia Conlen says TAMC will seek sign-off from the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 14, and later determine a funding source. The North Monterey County Unified School District board OK’d the plan in August.

For the temporary Castroville project, TAMC is gathering public input before the demonstration concludes on Oct. 8.

So far, Conlen says, neighbors have offered some positive feedback about speeding reduction. “We have also heard concerns about parking.”