Interview and Q&A: Julie Lucido, Public Works Director

The Public Works Department has a busy agenda ahead, with new funding from Measure G enabling significantly expanded project capacity. There's a lot of activity happening across the city, from major infrastructure improvements to creative placemaking initiatives. We spoke with Julie Lucido, Public Works Director, about the department's current work, upcoming projects and how these improvements support community and economic development goals.

Q: Can you give us an overview of what Public Works does and your key priorities as director?

The City's public works department designs, builds and maintains public infrastructure, including streets and sidewalks, bridges, traffic safety features, storm drainage systems, parking facilities and City owned buildings such as the fire stations and City Hall. We provide City engineering services to repair and construct other City assets including parks and trails. We also support private development, housing and commercial projects by reviewing and approving the construction plans needed to interface with public streets and drainage ways.

Our key priorities are to provide high quality, cost effective and efficient service to support community needs. This requires that we carefully plan our work to program our limited resources of staffing, budget, materials, and equipment to address priority work. While we're making progress on needed repairs on our aging infrastructure, there is more work to complete than resources available to address. Starting this year, as a result of the passage of the sales tax measure in November, there are significant new investments for fixing streets and improving parks among other services.

Q: What are some of the major infrastructure projects Public Works is currently working on? How is Measure G funding helping advance these priorities?

City Council passed a two-year budget at the end of June. Over $15 million was approved for improving streets and sidewalks and more than $10 million was approved for parks projects. This level of investment is possible due to the passage of Measure G. We have a lot of projects in the design process and starting construction.

Over the next couple of months we'll complete construction on Browns Valley Road which includes paving, repairing sidewalks, adding separated bike lanes and improving traffic safety. We're also starting work on Coombs Street and repaving a portion of Jefferson Street this month. This year's project schedule also includes street repairs in the Westwood Neighborhood and repaving Trancas Avenue and California Boulevard. We are also currently constructing a restroom at Alston Park and designing three more for other City parks.

Q: When planning major infrastructure improvements, what factors do you consider beyond the basic functional requirements? How do you balance the technical requirements of infrastructure with creating spaces that are attractive to businesses, residents and visitors?

We consider how the infrastructure can best serve the community and what design elements can elevate the experience, from safety features that make walking and biking more comfortable to landscaping and architectural features that enhance the overall aesthetic and character of the area. For example, when we repave our streets, we add enhanced pedestrian crossings and bike facilities throughout the community while protecting and replacing trees. When it's safer and people feel more comfortable biking and walking, there is more activity. We have had the opportunity to work with our colleagues in the parks department to add public art to enhance projects, specifically adding a mural to a new bike trail under the freeway, upcoming pavement art at downtown intersections and a sculpture at street medians along Soscol.

Q: "Placemaking" is one of the Economic Development focus areas - how do you define that in the context of infrastructure projects?

I have had the opportunity to work on projects that transformed sections of the community including the local flood project and implementation of elements of the downtown specific plan. Placemaking is planning and designing improvements to leverage the unique character of the community to create a distinct destination. This considers the history, natural features and existing assets to create community spaces that are inviting, attractive and that people want to interact with. Infrastructure is the backbone to provide those spaces. A great example is Veteran's Park downtown. This park was redesigned about 15 years ago as part of the floodwall system. The park was built to contain the floodwaters and incorporates landscaping, architectural finishes and faces the river providing a venue for recreation and for events; while keeping the downtown safe from flooding.

Q: From your perspective, how do infrastructure improvements support the City's broader economic goals, particularly with Economic Resilience now being a Council focus area?

Functional and attractive infrastructure is a draw for visitors and can be the pride of community members. The improvements can draw investments to develop private property that serves the community, other businesses and Napa's many tourists.

Q: What excites you most about the current pipeline of Public Works projects and their potential impact on the community?

What is most exciting is the fact that these projects impact the everyday lives of community members. Improvements for paving, parks and traffic safety have been identified by the community as high priorities and being able to deliver these important projects is very rewarding for our staff.