Crews filling in sidewalk gaps after Merced students’ request

Sidewalks in north Merced are shaping up as crews this week continue to fill in missing sections of walkway in parts of town where UC Merced students requested an assist.

The city of Merced has plans for more than $1 million in state Department of Transportation air quality grants aimed at improving sidewalks, according to the Merced County Association of Governments.

A crew on Tuesday laid several hundred feet of sidewalk along R Street north of Yosemite Avenue. Another crew shaped curbs and walkways on Compass Pointe Avenue, north of Yosemite Avenue.

There are also plans for sidewalk infill projects on El Redondo, Collins and Buena Vista drives. Carol Avenue and several other streets will see sidewalk improvements, according to the Association of Governments.

Students from the university had requested sidewalks in the area, according to the city’s staff. CatTracks, UC Merced’s bus system, makes a few stops in that area of town.

According to numbers from last year, about 35 percent of students, faculty and staff use CatTracks to get around town. About 11 percent use other methods, including riding a bike and walking.

The remainder either drive themselves or carpool.

The air quality grant money comes from Caltrans. The funding was distributed throughout the county after the Association of Governments sought requests for projects.

Downtown Merced also recently saw changes due to air quality funding when it got 52 new bike racks in February. The city has plans to use air-quality dollars for other bike-related projects, such as bike shelters, miles of bike lanes and an extension of a pathway along Black Rascal Creek.

This story was originally published March 31, 2015 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Crews filling in sidewalk gaps after Merced students’ request."