Council to vote on first round of mobility bond funding

On Thursday, City Council will take its first vote on authorizing city staff to spend a portion of the $720 million transportation bond that voters approved last month. Staff is requesting that Council approve both a $20 million amendment to the Public Works Department Capital Budget aimed at sidewalks, urban trails and capital renewal projects, as well as an $8 million amendment to the Transportation Department Capital Budget for corridor mobility, bikeways and safety improvements related to the city’s Vision Zero initiative. The money will not actually be spent, explained Assistant City Manager Robert Goode, until after Council gets a look at the plans for the first projects that staff will present in February. The point of approving the funding now, he said, “is really to send a message to the community and Council and staff that this is a different approach than we’ve taken before. Typically we come back six, eight, nine months out after an election and ask for this budget amendment; we are doing this in 35 days.”