16-year-old bicyclist hit at Broadway, Irvine

COSTA MESA — A 16-year-old bicyclist was injured after a Jeep Wrangler hit him about 7:30 a.m. Monday at Irvine Avenue and Broadway, police said.

Sgt. Phil Myers of the Costa Mesa Police Department said the boy, whose name was not released, was transported to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian with bumps and abrasions. None of his injuries were life-threatening, Myers said.

The driver was cited at the scene and let go, Myers said.

Residents in the Eastside neighborhood have for years been complaining about speeding cars on Broadway. Parents have expressed fear for their children’s safety when they ride their bikes or walk to school.

The city’s transportation department received almost $1 million from the federal government’s Safe Route to School Program to add traffic-calming measures on Broadway, said Raja Sethuraman, transportation services manager.

Costa Mesa is in the process of designing the project, which will narrow Broadway, add “chokers” at each intersection and medians throughout the road, Sethuraman said. The chokers consist of added landscaping along the roadsides, the result being a more narrow road that entices motorists to drive slower through it.

The project is scheduled to be completed mid-2012.