Agenda Item Wording:
title
Measure R Bike/Pedestrian funding reallocation - Authorize the reallocation of $1,808,000 in Measure R Bike/Pedestrian Funds from the Greenway Trail to the Highland Community Connectivity infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects; the appropriation of funds from the Measure R Trailways Fund; and authorize the City Manager to execute a Measure R Supplemental Agreement with the Tulare County Transportation Authority.
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Agenda Date: 09/21/2026
Prepared by:
Dolores Verduzco, Financial Analyst, dolores.verduzco@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4540
Chris Crawford, City Engineer, chris.crawford@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4331
Jason Huckleberry, Engineering & Building Director, jason.huckleberry@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4495
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends Council authorize the following:
1) The reallocation of Measure R Bike/Pedestrian Funds between projects within the Measure R Expenditure Plan of $1,808,000 from the Greenway Trail to the Highland Community Connectivity infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects; and
2) The appropriation of funds of $1,808,000 from the Measure R Trailways Fund to the Highland Community Connectivity projects; and
3) Authorize the City Manager to execute a Measure R Supplemental Agreement with the Tulare County Transportation Authority (TCTA).
Summary:
The Measure R Expenditure Plan includes funding for bike and pedestrian projects. Funding in the total amount of $8,000,000 is allocated to the Greenway Trail.
The Highland Community Connectivity project received an award of grant funds from the Active Transportation Program (ATP), Cycle 7. Local matching funds were committed towards the project. Staff recommends the reallocation of $1,808,000 from the Greenway Trail to fund the local match portions of the Highland Community Connectivity infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects. The city will be using the Measure R bike/pedestrian funds from the Greenway Trail for the local match for this grant instead of the originally planned Measure R Local Funds.
Background Discussion:
Greenway Trail
The Measure R is a voter approved 30-year ½ cent sales tax measure to fund transportation projects throughout Tulare County. The Measure R Expenditure Plan, developed with input from member agencies and the community, serves as a guide for allocating monies generated by the measure through the year 2037 to fund transportation needs countywide. The Expenditure Plan identifies funding categories to outline the projects that will be funded to include Regional Projects, Local Projects, and Transit/Bicycle Environmental (Air Quality) Projects. The Plan is administered by the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) acting as the Tulare County Transportation Authority (TCTA) of the Measure R Program.
In the Transit/Bicycle/Environmental funding category within the Measure R Expenditure Plan, $16,000,000 is identified for a regional bike/pedestrian project from K Road to Exeter. On September 15, 2025, the TCTA approved the reallocation of funding from the K Road to Exeter bike/pedestrian project to other bike/pedestrian improvements to include the reallocation of $8,000,000 towards the city’s Greenway Trail project. A trail along K Road was previously found infeasible by an engineering study due to the challenges of the railroad.
The Greenway Trail project will generally align with Road 148 from St. John’s Parkway to Caldwell Ave and will be constructed in multiple phases. The segment from Mineral King to Mill Creek was completed in 2022 and included a pedestrian bridge crossing over Mill Creek to connect to future trail extensions. Subsequent phases of the Greenway Trail will be incorporated into the Road 148 improvement projects. Budget appropriations for the design phase are included in the current 2-Year Adopted Budget (FY 26-27 and FY 27-28) with construction funding programmed in the planning years. Below is a list of the Road 148 projects identified in the current Capital Improvement Program that will include design and construction of the Greenway Trail. The list below includes the sum of the bike/pedestrian funds identified toward each project in the 6-Year Capital Improvement Plan. A consultant contract for design services has not yet been awarded for these Road 148 projects.
List of Road 148 projects and MR Trailways funds, total $2,061,600:
1. Road 148 from Houston Ave to Murray Ave (CP0525)
a. Total MR Trailways funds $671,000
2. Road 148 from St. John’s Parkway to Houston Ave (CP0868)
a. Total MR Trailways funds $256,100
3. Road 148 from Tulare Ave to Caldwell Ave (CP0526)
a. Total MR Trailways funds $1,134,500
Highland Community Connectivity Project
On May 20, 2024, the City Council authorized the City Manager to submit funding applications to the ATP, Cycle 7, to include a funding request for the Highland Community Connectivity project. The ATP is a state-administered grant program created to encourage the increased use of active modes of transportation. ATP funding in the total amount of $5,470,000 was awarded to the Highland Community Connectivity project. Local matching funds were committed towards the cost of the project to achieve the maximum amount of points in the leveraging category of the funding application. A total of $1,808,00 of local funds are needed to fully fund the cost of the Highland Community Connectivity project.
The Highland Community Connectivity project includes an infrastructure component to support corridor improvements consisting of multimodal improvements to benefit the students that attend Highland Elementary and the neighboring residents. The project will include Class II bike lanes on the north side and Class IV bike lanes on the south side of Houston Ave, from Dinuba Blvd to Santa Fe St; upgraded ADA/PROWAG-compliant curb ramps; newly striped crosswalks; painted and concrete bulb-out configurations at unsignalized intersections; and street lighting on minor streets within the vicinity of Highland Elementary School. The non-infrastructure component of the project consists of an educational campaign focused on walking and biking safety which will be implemented by disseminating information on the City’s website and through community engagement events.
Design for improvements for the Highland Community Connectivity project was authorized by Council for award on June 1, 2026. The preliminary project design is anticipated to be completed by January 2027. Public outreach meetings are planned for early 2027, with continued design submittals, leading to anticipated final design completion by October 2027. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2028 and tentatively to be completed by late 2028. For the non-infrastructure component of the project, Council authorized the award of a consultant contract on June 15, 2026.
Reallocation of Measure R Bike Pedestrian Funds
Based on the project schedules for the Greenway Trail project and the Highland Community Connectivity project, the Highland project will complete design and construction sooner than the Greenway Trail. Staff recommends reallocating $1,808,000 of the $8,000,000 allotted to the Greenway Trail, to the Highland Community Connectivity Project. In addition, it is estimated that sufficient funds will remain for the Greenway Trail to fund design and construction for the next three (3) planned phases. Upon approval of the reallocation of funds, $6,192,000 will remain for the Greenway Trail.
Fiscal impact:
Below is a budget summary for the Highland Community Connectivity projects, infrastructure component and non-infrastructure component. ATP funding of $5,470,000 was awarded for the Highland Community Connectivity projects; $4,950,000 for the infrastructure component and $520,000 for the non-infrastructure component. Local funds were previously authorized for appropriation from the Measure R Local Fund (131) for the local matching funds needed for the design phase of the infrastructure component and for the total amount needed for the non-infrastructure component. Upon approval of the reallocation and appropriation of Measure R bike/pedestrian funds to the Highland projects, the Measure R Local funds budget amount for fiscal year 26/27 of $1,154,107 and fiscal year 27/28 of $653,000, which totals to $1,808,000 will be released back to the Measure R Local Fund (131) and be available for future projects
Table 1 below is a summary of the current budget and future appropriations for the infrastructure and non-infrastructure components of the Highland Community Connectivity project.
Table 1: Budget Summary
|
Fiscal Year Budget |
Infrastructure Component (CP0801) |
Non-Infrastructure Component (CP0872) |
Total |
|
FY 26/27 Budget - ATP Grant |
$4,950,000 |
$520,000 |
$5,470,000 |
|
FY 26/27 Budget - MR Local |
$1,083,107 |
$71,000 |
$1,154,107 |
|
FY 27/28 Planned Appropriation - MR Local |
$653,000 |
$ - |
$653,000 |
|
Total |
$6,686,107 |
$591,000 |
$7,277,107 |
Table 2 below is a summary of only the total Measure R Local funds budgeted for each project component. The Measure R Local budget amounts shown below will be released from each project and swapped with Measure R Trailways funds.
Table 2: Measure R Local Funds Summary
|
Total Measure R Local Funding Summary |
Infrastructure Component (CP0801) |
Non-Infrastructure Component (CP0872) |
Total |
|
Total |
$1,736,107 |
$71,000 |
$1,807,107 |
|
Appropriate funds from MR Trailways (Round to) |
$1,737,000 |
$71,000 |
$1,808,000 |
Staff recommends the appropriation of the reallocated Measure R bike/pedestrian funds to the Highland Community Connectivity infrastructure project of $1,737,000 and to the Highland Community Connectivity non-infrastructure project of $71,000.
Prior Council Action:
June 15, 2026
Authorized the City Manager to award three (3) consultant contracts to Love to Ride for the non-infrastructure programs for the following projects and amounts: 1) Highland Community Connectivity $425,127; and 2) Santa Fe Street Bike Lanes Project $428,113; and 3) Goshen-Visalia Corridor Connection Project $416,077.
June 1, 2026
Authorized the City Manager to award a professional design services contract to CWE for the Highland Community Connectivity project in the amount of $674,983 and an additional appropriation of funds in the amount of $703,000 from the Measure R Local Fund (131).
November 3, 2025
Acceptance and authorization of funds awarded from the ATP of $51,468,000, the appropriation of $221,000 from the Measure R Local Fund (131) and $5,059,370 of additional funds from the Measure R Trailways Fund (132), and the authorized the amendment to the Measure R Supplemental Agreements for the projects specified in the staff report.
May 20, 2024
Authorized the submission of funding applications for the ATP funding (Cycle 7) to the California Transportation Commission for multiple proposed capital improvement projects.
Alternatives:
Do not approve the reallocation of Measure R Bike/Pedestrian Funds
Recommended Motion (and alternative motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to authorize the reallocation of $1,808,000 in Measure R Bike/Pedestrian Funds from the Greenway Trail to the Highland Community Connectivity infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects; the appropriation of $1,808,000 from the Measure R Trailways Fund; and authorize the City Manager to execute a Measure R Supplemental Agreement with the TCTA.
Environmental Assessment Status:
To be completed for each project prior to construction.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Review:
To be completed for each project prior to construction.
Deadline for Action: 09/21/2026
Attachments:
A. Highland Community Connectivity Project Location Map
B. TCTA Agenda - September 15, 2025
Strategic Goal: Indicates which City Strategic Goal(s) this item supports. Select all that apply.
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□  Economic Vitality |
□  Organizational Excellence |
□  Fiscal Strength |
■  Infrastructure & Growth |
■  Quality of Life |