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Lancaster receives state grant for highway safety

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The City of Lancaster has been awarded approximately $6.1 million in grants from Caltrans as part of its Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) to accomplish six transportation projects in the city. The grants will be used as part of the Lancaster Safer Streets Action Plan that proactively addresses traffic safety concerns across Lancaster’s roadway network.

The Lancaster Safer Streets Action Plan proactively addresses traffic safety concerns by applying engineering countermeasures systemically across Lancaster’s roadway network. These countermeasures are proven to reduce the quantity and severity of collisions that may occur as well as improving the overall safety of Lancaster’s roadways.

“The city of Lancaster is pleased to accept these grants from Caltrans as they will further our commitment to provide safer streets for all drivers and pedestrians alike,” said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris. “Lancaster prioritizes using cost-effective, environmentally safe, and high-visibility materials to extend the grant funds as far as we can without compromising the safety of our roadways. We are confident these upgrades and improvements will help pave the way for smoother transportation in Lancaster and ultimately save lives.”

Lancaster was awarded HSIP grants from Caltrans for the following projects:

• Systemic Signalized Safety Upgrades: $2,908,000 to improve vehicle detection technology at 28 signalized intersections to include advanced dilemma-zone detection, bike recognition, and detection as well as upgrades for existing signal equipment. Adding an advanced dilemma-zone detection system will modify traffic control signal timing to reduce the number of drivers who have to decide to stop or not at a yellow light. These improvements will help increase driver awareness and increase overall intersection safety.

• Systemic Commercial Driveway Access Modifications: $305,500 to create directional median openings to restrict potentially unsafe left-turns and u-turns at seven commercial driveways that have a history of accident or conflict. Directional medians separate opposing directions of travel and reduce the potential for head-on crashes.

• Two-Way Stop Roundabout Conversion: $2,129,200 to install low-cost, quick build roundabouts at five intersections in Lancaster. After seeing significant reductions in speed and fatal crashes at recently implemented roundabouts in Lancaster, the city identified additional locations that could benefit from roundabout conversion.

• High-Visibility Crosswalk Standardization Project: $250,000 to upgrade existing crosswalks to high-visibility, continental-style crosswalks at 53 intersections to better indicate preferred crossing locations. Lancaster has been working to replace its standard-style crosswalks through its pavement management program and capital improvement projects, and this grant will allow the city to achieve its goal of converting all possible crosswalks.

• Edgeline Refresh Project: $250,000 to rehabilitate and restore edgelines with thermoplastic material, which is ideal for roads that suffer from extreme sun, rain, or ice and improves visibility, on 48 miles of roadway. These roadways were selected due to their lack of street lighting, curbs, or gutters, and the presence of old edgelines that have severely faded.

• Guardrail Improvement Project: $226,900 to replace more than 1,000 feet of damaged guardrail at four locations in the city, which need to be replaced after helping prevent serious collisions. Guardrails serve drivers in several ways by either deflecting a vehicle back onto the road, slowing a vehicle, as well as preventing a vehicle from flipping, or from traveling into dangerous areas off-road.

These traffic projects are expected to help eliminate traffic-related deaths and severe injuries from collisions throughout Lancaster. All the programs will be completed by March 2026, if not sooner.

In this funding cycle, Caltrans funded 266 projects across California, totaling $227.6 million in HSIP funds. These funds are awarded to help California achieve a significant reduction in fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. HSIP specifically focuses on infrastructure projects that aim to address nationally recognized crash reduction factors (CRFs) and award grants based on crash experience, crash potential, crash rate, and other data-supported means.

For more information on how the city is improving roadways, traffic and pedestrian safety, visit www.cityoflancasterca.org/saferstreets.

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