KING CITY — Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC), in partnership with the City of King, has announced that King City residents and workers will have the opportunity to vote to determine which Safe Routes to School projects to fund in their city.
Voters, age 12 and older, can cast their votes from Oct. 27 through Nov. 12 by selecting from a list of projects developed by the King City Safe Routes to School Steering Committee and designed to make it safer for youth and families to get to and from school.
The Steering Committee, made up of residents and community advocates, formed in May 2023, worked with the Safe Routes to School program partners and the City of King to develop two proposals — consisting of 11 total projects — for the community to vote on.
Through this participatory budgeting process, residents will help determine how to spend $250,000 allocated for safety improvements, according to the TAMC.
In celebration of the participatory budgeting process, the election will kick off on Sunday, Oct. 29, at the Dia de Los Muertos event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., during which community members can learn about the projects, ask questions and cast their votes either on-site, online at bit.ly/kingcityvote, or take a ballot and drop it off at one of the ballot drop-off sites.
Ballot drop-off sites include the following:
- Chalone Peaks Middle School, 687 Meyer St., 8 a.m. to 2:25 p.m., Monday – Friday;
- King City High School, 720 Broadway St., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday;
- Del Rey Elementary School, 502 King St., 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday – Friday;
- Santa Lucia Elementary School, 502 Collins St., 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday – Friday;
- King City Arts Magnet, 415 Pearl St., 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday – Friday;
- City Hall, 212 South Vanderhurst Ave., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday;
- King City Branch Library, 402 Broadway St., 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday – Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday – Saturday;
- Cal Works Employment Services, 200 Broadway St., #62, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday; and
- St John Catholic Church, 504 N. Third St., 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday – Friday; 7 p.m., Saturday; and 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Sunday.
The winning projects will be announced in January 2024 and recommended for implementation to the King City Council. The Salinas Valley Safe Routes to School Plan, which is being implemented in Greenfield, Gonzales, Soledad and King City, will be adopted in fall 2024.
“The Safe Routes to School Program is a Measure X-funded initiative,” according to TAMC. “The Program leverages Measure X with state and federal funds for projects and programs that improve children’s health by making walking and bicycling safer and easier.”
For more information about the King City participatory budgeting process and a list of the proposed projects, visit bit.ly/kingcitypb.
