Main Street project in downtown Merced adding more parking, one-way traffic pattern

Starting early next year, a longer stretch of Main Street will be converted into a one-way road to make room for additional parking in what has become a busy business district.

The planned upgrades include 45 more parking spaces, a one-way traffic extension from Martin Luther King Jr. Way to O Street, and a westbound directional change along that entire downtown stretch on Main, city planners said.

Business owners and city officials met during an outreach meeting to discuss features to the “Main Street One-Way” project, an experimental pilot program initially approved by Merced City Council in 2021.

Proponents say the project is a cost-effective solution to improving parking availability and traffic safety in an area that is significant to the city’s economic growth

“Downtown is so important to have a good city,” Mayor Matthew Serrato told The Merced Sun-Star. A bevy of small businesses operate downtown which keeps revenue local, said Serratto, who attended the meeting.

The Department of Transportation will fund a majority of the project, allocating an estimated $630,000 from a federal initiative aimed at reducing traffic congestion and enhancing air quality. The remaining estimated $70,000 will come from Measure V, a half-cent transportation sales tax approved by county voters in 2016, according to Richard Maddox, senior engineer for the city.

Maddox told the approximately 14 community members in attendance that construction would last 60 business days, with phased road closures, and involve minimal construction. Main Street (between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and O Street) would be closed off one section at a time during each phase.

“We intentionally are trying to keep this limited to more of a striping project, than we’re trying to rebuild the road or change the sidewalk,” said Maddox, adding that the changes will be limited to painting road markings and updating traffic signs.

Attendants asked how construction would affect businesses and about solutions to regulate the flow of available parking. It’s not uncommon for customers, employees and residents to occupy a parking space for several hours at a time.

“The convenience of being able to park in front of businesses will probably be interrupted,” Maddox said. Shops will nonetheless remain open during the projected 60 business days of construction, he said.

Lena Lara, the store manager at Merced Uniforms & Accessories on Main Street, said she’s called tow truck services dozens of times in the past few years due to an increased need for parking. The store, located between M and N streets, will be affected by construction starting next year.

“We’ve had to call the tow truck several times because they take our parking,” she said. Workers in the surrounding area park in reserved spaces for the business, she said. “It was maybe two weeks ago, the last time we called the tow truck, and it belonged to one of the cooks. We try, we do our best, we go walk around. I mean, I don’t have time. There are signs posted. I don’t have time to walk door-to-door asking [people] to move [their] car.”

Other community members asked about traffic safety and offered suggestions to protect pedestrians and bicyclists from drivers. The use of red-light cameras was posited as a solution requiring additional traffic studies which Measure C could fund, Maddox said.

When the project is completed, 12 motorcycle stalls and 4 accessible parking spaces will be available, according to Maddox.

Annissa Fragoso, who owns Farmers Insurance Agency on Main Street, attended the meeting to advocate for accessible street parking. “I came, and I knew exactly what was on my mind,” she said.

When asked how many accessible parking spots the project would generate, Maddox said, “We’re not taking away any handicap spaces that currently exist,” to which Fragoso replied, “There’s none.” The room broke into side conversations when Maddox did not immediately respond.

While accessible parking does exist along Main Street, Maddox said that there are no accessible parking spaces between M and K streets. The project will change that, he said.

For years, Fragoso said she’s asked for more parking spaces downtown that adhere to standards of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). She said she worries for her elderly clients and those with physical disabilities.

“I’m going to be old one day,” Fragoso said. “We are not going to stay young forever.” The next steps would require a bid on the project by interested contractors, approval by the city council, and securing a contract by the end of the year.

This story was originally published September 25, 2024 at 12:25 PM.