Santa Rosa will spend an additional $400,000 studying a controversial bridge over Highway 101 for bicycles and pedestrians.
The City Council on Tuesday approved funding for the 18-month study, which is essentially a permit from Caltrans for the project, estimated to cost up to $20 million.
Bicycle advocates, Santa Rosa Junior College students and residents of the areas to be served by the bridge voiced strong support for the council's decision.
"I'm really excited that we're moving forward on this bridge that so many of us have been waiting so many years for," Junior College neighborhood resident Julie Chasen said.
The council appears to have overcome some of its earlier resistance to spending more money studying what some have seen as an unnecessary and expensive pet project of the cycling community in general and Councilman Gary Wysocky in particular.
Scott Bartley alluded to some of the acrimony that developed late last year when the new majority on the council appeared poised to block further funding for the project.
There was some "pretty intense negative energy about this project" back then, Bartley said, adding that he hopes backers can find a way to put that behind them.
"I think we really need to get it into a positive place," Bartley said. "Negativity is not where a project of this significance can survive."
It will be years before the city can attract the funding needed to construct the bridge, he said.
The city has spent more than $390,000 to date on the project, which envisions a curvaceous 15-foot-wide span from Elliott Avenue on the east side of Highway 101 to Edwards Avenue on the west. The precise design and layout would be determined later after community meetings and negotiations with property owners.
The next phase of the funding will come from $200,000 in Measure M transportation funds, $100,000 in Redevelopment Agency funds and another $100,000 in regional transit funds.
A handful of residents objected to the city spending additional money on the project. Kay Tokerud, a frequent critic of redevelopment agencies, objected to funding of something she saw as unnecessary.
"If those funds weren't spent on this project, they would be spent on other projects that could possibly be more important," she said.
But the majority of speakers at Tuesday's council meeting expressed strong support. Some argued the bridge, like the New Deal public works projects of the Roosevelt era, would help create much needed jobs.
Barbara Moulton noted that it fits together perfectly with the city's goals of reducing greenhouse gases, improving air quality and locating a second SMART commuter rail station on Guerneville Road.
"Not only is this project a fabulous project on its own merits … the synergy between this project and all the other good projects that Santa Rosa is engaged in is stunning," Moulton said.
The Coddingtown area is poised for significant, high-density growth in coming years, Councilwoman Susan Gorin said. The Association of Bay Area Governments sees up to 7,600 more people living in that area of the city in coming years, and those folks will need more transportation options, she said.
"Even if we don't get there quickly, we know that the area is going to grow," Gorin said.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: