Boulder Creek Complete Streets Improvements
The RTC has worked with residents, businesses, schools, Caltrans, the County of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz METRO, and others to prepare the 2019 Highway 9 San Lorenzo Valley Complete Streets Corridor Plan (SLV Plan), which identifies priority transportation projects through SLV. In 2026, the SLV Plan was updated and expanded as the Rural Highways Safety Plan.
The Boulder Creek Complete Streets improvement project was one of the highest priorities identified in the plan and includes wider sidewalks through downtown Boulder Creek on Highway 9 between River Street and Bear Creek Road as well as to Laurel Street on Highway 236, enhanced crosswalks with curb extensions (“bulb-outs”) to shorten crossing distances and make it easier to see pedestrians waiting to cross the street, gateway median islands to reduce speeding and conflicts before entering the downtown core, and the analysis of a new stop sign at Highway 9 and Bear Creek Road.
Complete streets through Boulder Creek is one of the projects in SLV with high public support. This area has a history of pedestrian and bicyclist-involved traffic collisions, and existing facilities are in need of repair or enhancement. The Caltrans/RTC project team completed the Complete Streets Project Initiation Document (PID 05-1M550) in 2022, analyzing safety enhancements on Highway 9 for all modes of transportation throughout SLV in more detail.
Representative Anna Eshoo included $1,500,000 in funding for complete streets improvements in Boulder Creek as part of her funding request for legislation to reauthorize federal surface transportation programs, the H.R. 3684 INVEST in America Act passed in 2022. This funding is currently being utilized for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and initial design process. In 2026, Representative Jimmy Panetta also included $850,000 as part of his request, which will partially fund the next phase of preconstruction.
RTC staff are currently preparing an application for a federal competitive funding through the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) federal complete streets grant opportunity that was part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, or Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This grant funding, along with a match from voter-approved Measure D, would provide the resources necessary to take the complete streets improvements original proposed in the SLV Plan and updated in the 2026 Rural Highways Safety Plan for the segment of Highway 9 in Boulder Creek between River Street and Bear Creek Road through the engineering and final design process as well as through to construction. During the current Environmental phase and moving forward, RTC will keep the community informed and solicit their feedback throughout the project implementation process.
Many other components of the SLV Plan in Felton are already making their way through the implementation process as part of Caltrans’ planned Safety and Capital Preventative Maintenance (CAPM) projects (05-1M400 or 05-1K890).
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