Photo by Veronica Adrover, UC Merced
Merced Campus Connections receives $3,228,532.
This award will be used by the University of California, Merced, to develop a supplemental safety action plan focused on the campus and surrounding roadways that connect the campus to the City of Merced and Merced College, and to conduct temporary demonstration activities such as a separated multi-use path. These activities will augment safety planning work currently underway by the City of Merced, County of Merced, and the Merced County Association of Government and will be executed in partnership with these agencies.
December 14, 2023 - WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that California was awarded over $139 million through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program, which funds regional, local, and Tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. This funding, which comes through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will support 56 initiatives across the state to improve roadway safety.
“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, California has secured over $139 million in additional federal funding to help our pedestrians, bicyclists, and commuters stay safe on our streets and roadways,” said Senator Padilla. “Far too often, we hear stories of children injured on their way to school, cyclists blindsided at major intersections, and deadly vehicle crashes during the daily commute. The action plans developed and implemented in California communities with this funding will curtail collisions and save lives.”
The 56 SS4A grants across California include:
- $19.8 million to the City of Fontana to dramatically improve safety for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists with complete infrastructure improvements along Foothill Boulevard (part of historic Route 66).
- $19.7 million to the City of Lancaster for multiple Complete Streets improvements on Challenger Way for pedestrians and bicyclists. The corridor had a total of 148 crashes, including 9 killed or severely injured, between 2017 and 2021.
- $16 million to the City of Salinas for implementing multiple safety improvements on Williams Road, based on the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan, which includes a road diet, roundabouts, and raised, buffered bicycle lanes.
- $12.9 million to the City of San Jose to implement safety improvements at four arterial intersections in the City’s High Injury Network. These intersections have a high frequency of crashes with fatal and serious injuries involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
- $12 million to the Southern California Association of Governments to 1) develop a Regional Safety Action Plan for the region’s six counties: Imperial, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Ventura; 2) expand the Go Human Safety Program which will inform the development of the Regional Safety Action Plan; and 3) pilot quick-build demonstration activities through a competitive Call for Applications using an equity-centered prioritization methodology.
- $11.1 million to the City of Riverside to construct infrastructure improvements on a well-traveled and high-collision corridor along South Main Street from 3rd Street to State Route-60 Freeway.
- $8 million to the City of San Francisco to address pedestrian safety issues in the Tenderloin, where pedestrians are 10 times more likely to be injured or killed by a car than elsewhere in the city.
A complete list of the SS4A grants awarded to California is available here.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law established the SS4A discretionary program with $5 billion in appropriated funds from 2022-2026. The following initiatives are eligible for this round of funding for the SS4A program:
- Develop or update a comprehensive safety action plan (Action Plan).
- Conduct planning, design, and development activities in support of an Action Plan.
- Carry out projects and strategies identified in an Action Plan.
In January, Senator Padilla and the late Senator Dianne Feinstein announced that California was awarded nearly $133 million through the SS4A program.
Source:Senator Alex Padilla
