Mecca–North Shore Road Plan Proposes Buffered Bike Lanes and Bridge Widening Along Hammond Road

MECCA / NORTH SHORE, Riverside County — October 27, 2026. A planned safer connection between eastern Coachella Valley communities is advancing through the formal environmental process. Riverside County’s Hammond Road/70th Avenue Bike Lanes Project proposes road widening for buffered bicycle lanes between Mecca and North Shore.

What the public proposal shows

The county’s February 25, 2026 filing with California’s State Clearinghouse describes a segment from Hammond Road at Second Street toward 70th Avenue at Sea View Way. Each side of the existing roadway would be widened by roughly nine feet, accommodating a five-foot bike lane and four-foot buffer in each direction.

An existing bridge over Wasteway No. 1 Coachella Valley Stormwater Channel, east of Cleveland Street, would also be widened. Officials describe the objective as safer bicycle travel and better connectivity between the two unincorporated communities.

Environmental review is not construction

The filing is listed as a Mitigated Negative Declaration, a California Environmental Quality Act review document. Its state-agency review period ran from February 25 through March 26, 2026. That review window has closed. Publication of the document does not prove the county has awarded a construction contract, secured every right-of-way or built the bike lanes.

The environmental filing identifies issues for analysis including hydrology, cultural resources, traffic, biology and tribal resources. Residents should check any adopted final environmental decision and current county transportation project record for the most recent design and construction timetable.

Why it matters locally

Travel between Mecca and North Shore can involve long stretches of open desert roadway. Dedicated lanes and buffers could create a clearer space for people using bicycles, though their real safety performance depends on intersection design, speeds, road conditions and maintenance after construction.

Questions for the county include whether shoulder access is retained during work, how the crossing over the stormwater channel is designed and when detours would begin. Construction notices, not an environmental filing, should be used to plan journeys.

Official sources: California State Clearinghouse — project 2026020981 and Riverside County’s related community resilience and transportation planning.

Read more at Mecca News and our Salton Sea regional investigation.

Editor’s note: These are proposed design measurements. Neither project approval nor completion is asserted.

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