Pedestrian and traffic safety on Main Street between Alameda Street and Louise Avenue is being upgraded.

It will include:

*A median with fencing to stop pedestrians from crossing mid-block.

*The same median would eliminate left turns in and out at will from various commercial driveways.

*Installing a high profile crosswalk with flashing warning lights at Edison Street.

*Adding bike lanes with the newer solid green markings.

The improvements reflect the drawbacks of the original design of the segment to handle pre-1955 traffic patterns.

That is before the freeway was built and Highway 99 still went through the heart of Manteca along Main Street and then turned to the southeast to head toward Ripon, Modesto, and beyond.

As such, most of the segment of North Main Street was created to wider highway traffic standards than for typical major city arterials.

The wider expanse tends to encourage speeding, makes it more precarious for pedestrians crossing the street or bicyclists using the roadway, and makes left turn movements more dangerous based on a greater tendency to misjudge the speed of incoming traffic.

The safety concerns have been reflected in accidents involving pedestrians as well as serious — and a higher number of crashes — involving speed and T-bone crashes involving vehicles making left turns.

The upgrades are now in the design phase.

The construction work is expected to start later this year.

It is part of $7.5 million worth of federally funded traffic safety projects moving forward in Manteca.

*Yosemite Avenue will be addressed between the downtown tracks and Walnut Avenue with construction targeted for spring of 2025.

*A citywide traffic signal synchronization endeavor expected to take place in the summer of 2025.

*Replacing older traffic signs throughout the city with the latest reflective technology to significantly increase nighttime visibility.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com