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Bakersfield officials outline $16 million H Street Complete Streets plan, including three roundabouts
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Summary
City officials described a Complete Streets overhaul for H Street from SR 58 to SR 204 to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety, add three roundabouts, plant trees and reconfigure lanes; they said about $14.2 million in federal funds (including $11 million CMAQ) will cover most costs and procurement is expected in April–May.
City of Bakersfield officials detailed plans for an H Street improvement project in Downtown Bakersfield on the Something Better podcast, saying the work will prioritize pedestrian and bicycle safety while reconfiguring lanes, adding three roundabouts and landscaping.
"Number 1 priority on this project is safety," said Zach Meyer, the city’s public works director, describing measures including corner bulb-outs to shorten crossings, three roundabouts at H & 2nd, H & 4th and H & 28th, lighting, benches and roughly 176 new trees. Meyer said most of the corridor — described in the discussion as running from State Route 58 to State Route 204 — will be reconfigured from four through-lanes to two through-lanes with a continuous center left-turn lane; the segment between California and Truxton will remain four lanes because of high congestion near a school referred to in the podcast as "BHS."
The project’s estimated cost is "just north of $16,000,000," Meyer said, and he added that $14,200,000 in federal dollars has been identified to help fund it. Of that federal total, Meyer said $11,000,000 is congestion mitigation and air-quality (CMAQ) money, which staff tied to design choices intended to reduce vehicle idling by improving traffic flow.
Assistant City Manager Gary Hallen and Meyer said the H Street work is part of a broader shift to Complete Streets policies in Bakersfield. "The city does have a complete street ordinance," Meyer said, and staff use engineering criteria to ensure the designs account for pedestrians, bicyclists, scooters and drivers.
Hallen described outreach done during design: several evening community meetings in 2025, door-to-door notices and a recent open-house showing the 90% design, which staff said drew strong attendance and produced site-specific feedback. "A lot of people had questions, and staff were there at all those meetings to give that one-on-one contact and information," Hallen said.
Business owners flagged on-street parking as a priority, the officials said; Meyer said staff adjusted the concept to preserve on-street parking in areas where businesses lack private lots. He described the project procurement plan: the city expects to advertise a prequalification and bidding period in April, seek a bid award from city council in May, and begin construction in summer with work prioritized near California and H before school resumes.
Officials emphasized that the project remains in design and procurement stages and described engineering, outreach and federal funding as key next steps. The podcast concluded with officials encouraging residents to follow project updates.
The city’s account of funding sources, design elements, outreach events and procurement timeline came from remarks on the April podcast episode by Meyer and Hallen, recorded and distributed by Joe Conroy, the city public information officer.
