Merced, CA Filming & Production: Street Closures (2026)

110 of the Merced Municipal Code applies whenever a permitted filming activity would impair traffic flow in the city. The production must use local law enforcement personnel and comply with all traffic-control requirements the city deems necessary. Subsection A requires the applicant to furnish and install advance warning signs and other traffic-control devices that conform to the California Department of Transportation's Manual of Traffic Controls, along with all appropriate safety precautions. Subsection B allows the city to restrict traffic to a single twelve-foot lane or stop it intermittently, with the city determining how long the restriction lasts.

Subsection C bars detouring traffic across a double line without prior approval from the appropriate department representative. Subsection D requires camera cars to be driven in the direction of traffic and to obey all traffic laws unless the city authorizes otherwise. Subsection E gives any emergency road work or construction by city crews or their contractors priority over the filming activity whenever the two conflict. 010 permit, a production that has not secured that permit, and its required liability insurance and hold-harmless agreement, cannot lawfully close a lane or reroute traffic for a shoot; the finance officer administers the permit, but coordination with sworn officers for lane closures runs through the police department.