State Funding Allocated For Stockton Street Bus Stop
Sonora, CA – With a request of bids to go out this fall for the construction of a Stockton Street Bus stop in Sonora, state money from the gas tax will help offset some of the $2 million price tag.
Recently, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) allocated $1.18 billion for projects to fix and improve transportation infrastructure throughout the state. CTC notes that more than half or $630 million of those funds come from Senate Bill (SB) 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017.
One of the projects receiving $350,000 in funds is the city of Sonora’s Stockton Street bus stop construction. There will be two shelters each a block down from South Washington Street/Highway 49, one on the Roadway Inn side and the other near Bank Of America. Tuolumne County Transportation Council Executive Director Darin Grossi shared it will be an enhanced bus stop as it will accommodate not only transit buses but also tour and Yosemite YARTS buses.
“We’re going to be building ADA accessible sidewalks. They’ll be nice shelters with good signage and a kiosk to tell people about what events are going on in downtown Sonora,” detailed Grossi. “There will be really good lighting for safety reasons. Also, there will be security cameras.” He added that TCTC worked with representatives of the Vision Sonora Committee on the design of the bus stop to make sure it is complementary to the historic look of downtown.
This project has numerous funding sources. Grossi relayed that a majority of the state funding stems from air quality legislation, AB 617 passed in 2017, requiring new community-focused and community-driven action to reduce air pollution and SB 1, the 12-cent gas tax.
Regarding the timeline for construction, Sonora’s Community Development Director Rachelle Kellogg relayed, “We will be going out to bid later this fall with a spring start for construction.”
