A safety project made possible by a $3.2 million federal grant is expected to lead to bike lanes and improved safety on Bellevue Road near UC Merced.
The Bellevue Road safety project is a pilot program that will install, test and assess bike lanes and other safety interventions, according to a news release from the university.
Other measures include increased signage, additional lighting and installation of signaled crossings to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians.
In addition to the grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Roads For All program, the project is being made possible through local matching funds from the city of Merced and Merced County Association of Governments.
The project, which totals $4 million, is one of 385 nationwide funded through the program.
The university’s also working with the Merced Bicycle Coalition, city of Merced, Merced County and Merced County Association of Governments to determine the final selection of pilot safety interventions, the release said.
Bellevue Road, which runs east to west in north Merced, just south of the university, has been deemed dangerous by some cyclists and others.
It’s two-lane arterial roadway with only a narrow shoulder as a bike lane.
A UC Merced student riding a bicycle was struck and killed by a car in 2021. Since then there have been many accidents and close calls. Although the posted speed limit is 55 mph, the actual speed most cars travel is 65 mph, the release said.
“It is not safe,” said avid bicyclist Justin Hicks, a UC Merced economics professor and former chair of the Merced Bicycling Coalition, in the release. “I would never recommend anyone ride a bike down Bellevue.”
The project is focused on a 5-mile route that’s the main connector between UC Merced and Merced College..
In their proposal to the Department of Transportation, UC Merced officials said about half of the university’s 8,300 undergraduate students, all of the graduate students and more than 1,800 employees commute to campus.
Permanent plan to follow
After a short period, the project team and UC Merced researchers will evaluate these interventions, comparing collision and near-miss data with historical trends, the release said.
The findings will be used to finalize a plan that informs the design of permanent bicycle and pedestrian solutions when Bellevue Road is widened in the future.
The pilot measures will be tested and assessed through the 2027-28 academic year. University officials said opportunities for public input will happen in the future.