Priority locations, including Saliman Road in front of Carson High School, as outlined in the Carson Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Local Road Safety Plan.
The Carson City Regional Transportation Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a $110,000 contract to update the Carson City Safe Routes to School Master Plan that will incorporate Carson High School, Pioneer High School and schools in the Stewart Community of the Washoe Tribe.
Funded by a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant (different than the Safe Routes to School program), the contract is with Alta Planning + Design, which is expected to complete work by the end of this year. The current plan is for K-8 schools. The update will focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety, possible improvements and student gathering spots like the library and community center.
“When the first Safe Routes to School Master Plan was completed, high schools were not eligible as part of the larger Safe Routes to School program,” Carson City Transportation Manager Chris Martinovich said. “Funds could only be spent on K-8 schools. That changed with passage of the federal IIJA (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act). As such, we are updating the master plan to include all schools in Carson City since they are now all eligible. The update to the master plan will likely examine the intersection of Saliman and Robinson, but it is unlikely to recommend anything vastly different from what has been reviewed in the past.”
Martinovich pointed to the Carson Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Local Road Safety Plan, approved in 2024, that examined Saliman Road and “concluded that the city should evaluate the need for a signal and to install a signal when warranted.”
“A signal is also the long-term vision of this intersection as required as part of the Lompa Ranch development,” he said. “The original decision to install a traffic signal at this intersection is based on the original Lompa Ranch development traffic impact study from March 2017 and the associated conditions of approval for the original Lompa Ranch Specific Plan Area. The traffic impact study indicated that a signal at the intersection of Saliman and Robinson was required when 1) the AM peak hour bidirectional traffic volume on Robinson Street east of Saliman Road reaching 600 total vehicles, or 2) the completion of 460 housing units that contribute trips directly to Robinson Street.’”
Martinovich put the cost of a signal at $1.63 million.
“The city collected $475,000 from the most recent development, Capital Crossing, and is also holding a bond for the construction of the signal for a total of $375,000,” Martinovich said. “A future phase of the Lompa Ranch Specific Plan Area called Blackstone Ranch Phase 2 is also conditioned to provide $972,900 in funding toward the traffic signal. The city estimated the cost of the signal to be about $1.63 million. Those two conditions will have been met with more recent approved developments like Capital Crossing, currently under construction.”
The first phase of the Capital Crossing subdivision lies north of East Robinson Street, and Blackstone Ranch Phase 2 lies south of East Robinson Street. Both are situated west of I-580.
Martinovich said the threshold for installing a traffic signal is based on signal warrants.
“There are several warrants that are considered including vehicle volume and crashes,” he said. “These warrants can be found in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The MUTCD is a nationally accepted manual that governs signing and striping across the country, including Carson City. The intersection does not meet the warrants to install a traffic signal at this time, but likely will in the next several years.”
Wednesday, Mayor Lori Bagwell asked staff about the danger of losing federal funding under the Trump administration.
“As for the SS4A grant (Safe Streets and Roads for All) grant, I can say we did talk with the FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) today, and grants that have already been given are OK,” said Scott Bohemier, the city’s coordinator for Safe Routes to School.
CAMPO’s Local Road Safety Plan is online: carson.org/home/showpublisheddocument/89078/638517882664470000.
In other action:
• RTC members unanimously approved a $1.3 million contract with M4 Engineering LLC for the Carson City Multi-Use Path Project.
“The project is located in all five performance districts across Carson City and is funded using a combination of federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funds and local funding,” reads a staff report. “The project includes construction of a new pathway along Governors Field; safety and American with Disabilities Act improvements for the path at the intersection of Longview Way and Ash Canyon Road; patching, slurry seal and landscaping for the patch along Saliman Road, south of Sonoma Street; and patching, crack sealing, slurry seal, on path segments along Linear Ditch Trail, Fairview Drive, and East 5th St.”
Casey Sylvester, transportation/traffic engineer for the city, said the local contribution to the project is only about $65,000 for match funding.
• RTC members unanimously approved a grant application to the Nevada Aging and Disability Services Division (ADSD) for $96,500, with a $14,513 local match, in support of Jump Around Carson’s Senior Bus Pass Program.
The free pass program is for the JAC fixed-route system for those 60 and older, according to the agenda.
For information, go to carson.org/government/departments-g-z/public-works/transportation/jac-jump-around-carson.