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By Jason Islas
Lookout Staff

September 12, 2011 -- One of the Bike Action Plan's high priority projects – the Michigan Avenue “Greenway” – is on its way to realization, even before the City Council has a chance to approve the Plan itself.

Caltrans has awarded Santa Monica's Transportation and Planning Division a $138,600 Environmental Justice Grant “to conduct extensive public outreach and complete conceptual designs” for the Greenway, according to an e-mail the City Manager's Office sent to the City Council Thursday. The city is expected to contribute $15,400.

“This is a great example of the Bike Action Plan at work,” Deputy Director of Special Projects Lucy Dyke told The Lookout Friday. “This grant enables us to take another step toward construction,” she said.

The Bike Action Plan slates the Greenway for construction within the next five years and, thanks to the Caltrans funding, the process can begin.

In the plan, the Greenway is outlined, but only in broad strokes.

Proposed Michigan Greenway.

It will cross the Exposition bike path at 17th Street, connecting Santa Monica High School, the Pico Neighborhood, Santa Monica College, and the Expo light rail stations.

The fact that the Greenway – which will reduce auto traffic and create a more pedestrian-friendly environment – will benefit the Pico Neighborhood qualified it for an Environmental Justice Grant.

Environmental Justice Grants, according to Thursday's email, “are awarded to promote the participation of low-income and minority populations in planning transportation projects that enhance the quality of their neighborhoods while improving mobility and safety.”

Because of its extensive reach, there are a lot of details to consider, including Caltrans right-of-way and input from the community.

“Our city staff did a great job of securing funding, and now it will be up to Pico neighborhood residents, bicyclists, and others, to help us decide how best to design the Greenway," Councilmember Kevin McKeown told The Lookout Friday.

Councilmember Terry O'Day told The Lookout that receiving the grant money “helps to focus on critical issues of social equity in providing a safe route to school for kids in the Pico Neighborhood and greening the corridor that was harshly divided by the freeway many years ago.”

The money will be spent “to develop a plan that could be used for construction,” Dyke said, making the project more competitive when it comes time to apply for construction grants.

The Michigan Avenue Greenway will be a vital east-west route, especially since the Bike Action Plan leaves Pico Boulevard relatively untouched.

It will run the length of Michigan Avenue from Santa Monica High School, across Lincoln Boulevard, all the way to 20th Street. After 20th Street, the Greenway will work its way east, jogging south to Delaware Avenue, then to Virginia Avenue, until it reaches 30th Street. The Greenway will then turn south and continue along 30th Street until it connects with Ocean Park Boulevard.

The project will get started in early 2012, according to Thursday's email

Though it is not yet in the construction phase, the project is well on its way to becoming realized – a fact that city officials find very exciting.

“I will only be more thrilled when we break ground,” said O'Day.