May 28, 2019 – NCTC, in coordination with Caltrans, Nevada County and the City of Nevada City, is preparing a corridor plan to guide resource investment toward creation of a safe and efficient transportation corridor. The area that is the focus of this study is State Route 49 from the SR 20/Uren Street Intersection to the Nevada County Juvenile Detention Facility.
On May 28th, NCTC will host a project “Open House” from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, in the Empire Mine Room at the Eric Rood Administrative Center, 950 Maidu Avenue, Nevada City, to inform the public about the study and to receive public input regarding pedestrian and bicycle travel in the corridor.
The initial impetus for this study came from citizen comments at the May 2018 NCTC meeting. These comments led to the recognition that there is demand for pedestrian and bicycle crossings at four consecutive intersections: Coyote Street, North Bloomfield Road, Maidu Avenue, and Cement Hill Road. Three of those intersections are two-way stop controlled; only North Bloomfield Road is signalized and has crosswalks.
The work of this project will include analyzing the safety and operational characteristics of the following intersections on SR 49 in Nevada City and Nevada County:
1. SR 20/SR 49/Uren Street
2. Coyote Street/ SR 49 (adjacent to Forest Service driveway)
3. North Bloomfield Road/East Broad Street/SR 49
4. Maidu Avenue/Orchard Street/SR 49
5. Cement Hill Road/West Broad Street/SR 49
6. Elks Lodge driveway/SR 49
7. Nevada County Juvenile Hall driveway/SR 49
The analysis of the corridor will include recommendations that will improve safety, maintain operational efficiency and accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians. The goal is to identify improvements that will be aesthetically appropriate for historic Nevada City, accommodate vehicular traffic (including heavy trucks), and be friendly to bicyclists and pedestrians, both along the corridor and when crossing an intersection. Traffic calming measures along the highway will be needed to meet the goals of this project.