SLO cuts ribbon on Laurel Lane safety improvements

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held in San Luis Obispo for the completion of safety improvements along Laurel Lane with the roadway’s intersections identified as highest in the city for pedestrian collisions.

On any given day Laurel Lane has students walking to and from local elementary schools, people visiting nearby city parks, bicyclists, senior living transit and public transit services and a shopping center.

“We took a four lane roadway down to two lanes finding that is really enough for adequate space to accommodate the vehicle traffic”, said San Luis Obispo Public Works Director Daryl Grigsby, “we have also enhanced pedestrian markings at key points in the roadway and we also have what we call bulbouts which essentially shortens the crossing distance at two points on Laurel Lane from one side to the other.”

The project also includes about 30 more on-street parking spaces and a wider buffer for the bike lane.

The San Luis Obispo City Council approved the $2.5 million Laurel Lane safety improvement project in June with most of it paid for by local Measure G revenue funds.