Council Pushes for School Engagement Before Advancing Safety Plans

Martinez City Council held its first deep look at federally funded safety audits for all six school campuses and found a project rich in engineering data but missing a critical ingredient: input from the people who actually navigate those crosswalks, drop-off lanes, and bike routes every day. Council members unanimously directed staff and the project consultant to meet individually with every school principal, parent group, and PTA before any recommendations come back for action.

• Safety audits flag hazards at all six Martinez schools — blocked sidewalks, missing crosswalks, no bike infrastructure, and dangerous drop-off queuing

• Council demands one-on-one meetings with each school community before staff returns with refined recommendations

• Mayor Zorn calls for immediate crosswalk repainting and a citywide policy defaulting to Class IV separated bike lanes

• Councilmember Malhi presses for double-fine school zones and cites Pleasant Hill's speed humps as a model

• Senior staff warns paint alone won't cut it — bollards, speed humps, and physical barriers are needed to slow drivers

The basics: The city's Safe Streets for All (SS4A) federal grant funded an audit by AMG Advanced Mobility Group of pedestrian and bicycle conditions around Alhambra, John Muir, Morello Park, Martinez Junior High, John Sweatt, and Hidden Valley elementary and middle schools. Consultant Christopher Thay walked the council through field findings and draft Suggested Route to School maps for each campus during a roughly 55-minute workshop.