Category Archives: Sidewalks

Sidewalk, Streetlight Project Underway

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March 8, Mojave, California. Mojave’s largest municipal construction project in recent memory is progressing at full speed. Concrete for the first sidewalks has been poured along Belshaw, K and L Streets, and along Sierra Highway en route to Stater Bros. The first 18 of 50 lights were installed in February, and should be turned on by mid-March. And the remaining curb and gutter and utilities have been added or relocated to make way for this and future development. The entire project should be complete by June 2018.

Sidewalk Streetlight PlanThe sidewalks and streetlights are being installed together in two phases, with the first phase stretching from Panamint to Stater Bros in January to March, and the second phase covering Panamint to Mojave Gardens in March to June. This marks the largest civil engineering project in Mojave in recent memory, adding almost 4 miles worth of new sidewalks along every street in downtown Mojave; plus over a mile of new curb and gutter. About $2 million was necessary over four years to make this project possible, from a diverse set of sources:

  • $1 million in 2018 for sidewalks, which was possible due to a grant from the California Department of Transportation.
  • $500,000 in 2017 for sidewalks, crosswalks and 20 solar streetlights on K-street, a project funded mostly by renewable energy company Terra-Gen.
  • $250,000 in 2015 for curb and gutter, funded by a community block development.
  • $125,000 in 2018 for 50 solar streetlights, raised by The Mojave Foundation, from residents, local businesses and corporate donors.

Streetlight installationThis project is the result of years of collaboration between the Mojave Foundation, Kern County, and the business community in Mojave, which have worked tirelessly to improve safety and security in Mojave. This year, Kern County is expecting each department to take more budget cuts, including fire and police, for the fourth year in a row. This has significantly reduced the number of deputies on the street, and puts more pressure on local communities to take responsibility for their own security. The Mojave Foundation believes that in the absence of additional law enforcement, these streetlights and sidewalks are the best way for our community to address public safety and security. We also view this as the ideal public/private partnership, where the private sector raises the initial funds for community development, and the local government manages the long-term sustainability of the program. We are proud to work with Kern County, our local residents and businesses to make concrete improvements in our community.

Sidewalks and Solar Streetlights Coming to Every Street in Downtown Mojave in early 2018

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Mojave, CA – Monday, Nov 27. Construction on a Mojave’s largest municipal infrastructure project in years will begin in January of 2018, according to officials from Kern County. The project includes sidewalks along every street in downtown Mojave, to be joined by 50 solar-powered streetlights installed concurrently along those streets.

The project is the joint venture between Kern County and the Mojave Foundation, with Kern County being responsible for the sidewalk installation and long-term maintenance of the lights, and the Foundation raised $112,000 to purchase the lights from local residents and most businesses operating in Mojave and on the airport. “Our partnership with the Mojave Foundation continues a long track record of Kern County partnering with the private sector and non-profits to improve the safety, health, and quality of life of our residents,” said Zack Scrivner, Kern County Supervisor, Second District. “I applaud the efforts of all involved to bring this needed infrastructure project to completion.”

The Mojave Foundation believes this is the ideal public/private partnership, with local communities as stake-holders in their own municipal investments, and governments contributing to the long-term sustainability of projects. The largest donations for this project came from Terra-Gen Energy, Golden Queen Mine, Northrop Grumman, and the Mojave Marathon, and were made through the Foundation’s 501c3 nonprofit status. 100% of the funds raised over the past three years were directed exclusively to this project.

The lights are provided in partnership with Greenshine New Energy, in Lake Forest, California, who is contributing to support of Mojave’s community development. Greenshine provides municipal lighting to communities all over America, but has taken special interest in the unique aerospace community of Mojave.

The project comes on the heels of another investment by Kern County and local energy companies in the “K-street” project, which brought 20 solar power streetlights and crosswalks to two blocks along K-street.

These investments are designed to stem the rise in pedestrian traffic fatalities as well as stabilize the security situation in our community. Six pedestrians were killed by vehicles since 2013, and three consecutive years of budget cuts have left the Kern County Sheriff’s office with two-thirds fewer deputies in southeast Kern County. There are now about 15 deputies solely in Mojave to cover an area half the size of Connecticut, previously staffed by over 40 deputies in Mojave, Rosamond and Boron. The introduction of Marijuana dispensaries and cultivation has further strained our community, enabled by blighted housing, complicit property-owners, and an eager market. While we cannot fix these public safety problems through law enforcement alone, the least we can do is turn the lights on. Through investments in public infrastructure and targeted recruitment of new storefronts and developers to Mojave, we hope to displace the illicit activity with more sustainable businesses and housing.

About The Mojave Foundation:
The Mojave Foundation is a nonprofit 501c3 organization registered in the state of California dedicated to making Mojave a safe and desirable place to live, work and do business. We do this by raising funds through public and private donors to execute community projects quickly and efficiently. We live and work in Mojave, and are committed to making the community a net asset to the incredible aerospace companies who innovate, fly and test here. We are also committed to environmental and economic sustainability, and believe in lasting public-private partnerships where local stakeholders take responsibility for the future of our community, with critical support from local authorities.

Mojave Getting Sidewalks in 2016

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Sidewalks County Plan 20151120Nov 20: Kern County Roads announced in September that Mojave won a $0.9 million grant from California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) to bring Sidewalks to Mojave. The grant, part of CalTrans’ “Safe Routes to School” program, will bring sidewalks to every street in downtown Mojave, and ensure children and pedestrians can walk safely and confidently throughout our community. Mojave tied with two other cities in California for the highest score among 617 applications competing for $180 million in state-wide transportation funding. Kern County will also contribute $350,000 to bring the total project to $1.2 million.

Sidewalks - family walkingSidewalks will extend from Sierra Highway to the Airport, and from highway 58 to the overpass on the north end of town. Sidewalks will also be installed along Barstow Road in Mojave Gardens. Construction is expected to begin by the end of 2016.

The Mojave Foundation is proud to have contributed to the this project, and liaised between Kern County Roads, Mojave Unified School District, Kern Country Sheriff’s Office, Mojave Air & Space Port, and a myriad of other stakeholders in the community who wrote dozens of letters of support. The Foundation also looks forward to capitalizing on this progress by restoring Streetlights and other safety improvements in our streets.

Massive Sidewalk Grant to be Submitted in Spring 2015

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Sidewalks to SchoolAugust 28: In May 2014 Kern County Roads submitted a grant proposal to CalTrans to install sidewalks along northern Hwy-14 near Stater Bros. The Active Transportation (ATP) grant was ultimately denied by CalTrans, according to Bob Neath, Engineering Manager at Kern County Roads. However, The Mojave Foundation submitted a larger sidewalk grant to Kern County Roads in May, which Mr. Neath intends to submit to CalTrans in 2015. The grant, titled “Sidewalks to School” is expected to top $1.4 million, and include 27,000 linear feet of sidewalks, spanning the entire downtown area and part of Mojave Gardens. The grant application intends to take advantage of California’s “Safe Routes to School” program, which is a special category within CalTrans’ ATP which gives special preference to municipal infrastructure project that enhance public safety for children. “We think we have a really good shot at this grant”, said Mr. Neath at Thursday’s Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Mariah Inn in Mojave. “Our Stater Bros sidewalk application missed the cut-off by one this year, so we think that this ‘Sidewalks-to-School’ grant is really competitive.”

Sidewalks - family walkingThree pedestrians were killed by vehicles in Mojave in 2013, one of which was a 16-year-old girl crossing the road on her way to school. The Mojave Foundation worked with Kern County Roads and Southern California Edison to install a flashing cross-walk at this intersection, but we feel that the problem of pedestrian safety is systemic, and can only be solved with a comprehensive municipal investment in sidewalks and streetlights. We are currently fundraising for a municipal lighting project, and we look forward to working with Kern County Roads to bring sidewalks to Mojave’s streets as rapidly as possible. To see the full grant The Mojave Foundation submitted to Kern County Roads, click here: Part-1, Part-2, Graphics.