LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Caltrans said a project to improve pedestrian safety and install traffic calming features on a 30-mile stretch of Highway 20 will begin in the summer.

The Route 20 Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project will include Blue Lakes, Upper Lake, Robinson Rancheria, Nice, Lucerne, Glenhaven and Clearlake Oaks, Caltrans reported.

“Given the highway’s significance in connecting residents, visitors, and east-west travelers between U.S. 101 and Interstate 5, prioritizing safety is vital for all road users including pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users,” Caltrans said in a statement issued on the project.

“The project is part of a state funded pilot program to deliver cost-effective, quick build safety enhancements. The funding is not associated with SB1 and individual projects do not require approval from the California Transportation Commission,” Manny Machado, public information officer for Caltrans District 1, which includes Lake and Mendocino counties, told Lake County News.

Machado said the project will focus on a number of safety enhancements. 

They include flexible plastic posts installed in the center turn lanes to discourage the illegal use of the center turn lane as a passing lane.

There will be three new crosswalks with pedestrian activated rectangular rapid flashing beacons in Nice at Collier Avenue, between Howard Avenue and Benton Avenue, and at the east end of Manzanita Drive in Nice, and one in Glenhaven at Spring Road.

There also will be two new crosswalks in Lucerne at 13th Avenue and Country Club Drive.

Striping changes to enhance intersections will take place at Pomo Way in Robinson Rancheria; in Nice at Collier Avenue, Springe Drive and Manzanita Drive — both east and west ends; and at Island Drive in Clearlake Oaks.

Additional pedestrian warning signs and no passing signs also will be installed in the project area, Machado said.

Regarding what led to the project, Machado said it was initiated “to address community input regarding passing in the center turn lanes, aggressive driving, and pedestrian safety enhancements.”

He said the project is the third of three “quick build proactive safety projects” along the Northshore in response to community input.

“The prior two quick build safety projects were constructed in 2024 and 2025 and upgraded 36 crosswalks and installed new rectangular rapid flashing beacons at 17 of those crosswalks. A separate project is also under development to install a pedestrian hybrid beacon and a sidewalk realignment at the school crosswalk at High Valley Road in Clearlake Oaks,” he explained. 

The construction contract has not yet been advertised or awarded, Machado said.

Machado said construction is expected to start in the summer of 2026 and last up to six months.

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