El cruce ciclista está cerca.

Because cruce is a masculine noun in Spanish, so it takes el in the singular.

• el cruce
• los cruces

Even though many nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine, you still have to learn each noun’s gender individually. In this case, cruce is masculine.

Cruce comes from the verb cruzar (to cross). As a noun, it usually means a crossing, intersection, or place where something crosses.

In this sentence, cruce ciclista refers to a bicycle crossing or cyclist crossing—a place intended for cyclists to cross.

In Spanish, it is very common for a noun to be followed by another word that describes its type or purpose.

So cruce ciclista works like:

• bike crossing
• cyclist crossing
• literally, something like crossing for cyclists

Spanish often places this descriptive word after the main noun, whereas English sometimes puts it before:

• carril bici = bike lane
• tráfico peatonal = pedestrian traffic
• cruce ciclista = cyclist crossing

Here, ciclista is best understood as cyclist or for cyclists.

It can function as:

• a noun: El ciclista = The cyclist
• an adjective-like word in combinations: cruce ciclista = cyclist crossing

So in this sentence, it describes the kind of crossing it is.

Because ciclista is one of those Spanish words that has the same form for masculine and feminine.

For example:

• el ciclista = the male cyclist
• la ciclista = the female cyclist

So the ending -a does not always mean the word is feminine. The article tells you the gender when needed.

Spanish uses estar for location, so está cerca means is nearby / is close in terms of physical position.

That is why you say:

• El cruce ciclista está cerca.
• La estación está lejos.
• Mi casa está aquí.

You would not normally use ser for this kind of location.

A useful rule:

• ser = identity, definition, origin, characteristics
• estar = location, condition, temporary states

Because cerca can be used in two slightly different ways.

1. On its own, it means nearby:

   • El cruce ciclista está cerca. = The cyclist crossing is nearby.

2. With a reference point, you use cerca de:

   • El cruce ciclista está cerca de la escuela. = The cyclist crossing is near the school.

So in your sentence, there is no de because no specific place is mentioned after cerca.

Yes. That is a very natural alternative.

• cruce ciclista = cyclist crossing / bicycle crossing
• cruce para ciclistas = crossing for cyclists

The version with para ciclistas is a little more explicit. The shorter version, cruce ciclista, sounds like a label you might see in traffic or city-planning language.

It is understandable, but the exact term can vary by country, city, and traffic system.

Depending on the place, people might also say things like:

• paso para ciclistas
• cruce para bicicletas
• cruce de ciclistas

So the phrase is grammatically fine, but real-life signage and everyday usage may differ regionally.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• El = roughly el
• cruce = KROO-seh
• ciclista = see-KLEES-tah
• está = es-TAH
• cerca = in most of Latin America, SER-kah

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

el KROO-seh see-KLEES-tah es-TAH SER-kah

A couple of helpful notes for Latin American Spanish:

• c before e or i usually sounds like s
• the stress in está falls on the last syllable because of the accent mark

Usually, no. In a normal sentence, Spanish generally wants the article here.

So:

• El cruce ciclista está cerca. ✅

Without the article, it sounds incomplete in standard usage unless it is being used in a special context like a headline, label, or note.

Spanish uses articles more often than English does, especially with common nouns.

Yes, that is possible, but it changes the feel slightly.

• El cruce ciclista está cerca. = neutral, standard order
• Está cerca el cruce ciclista. = more emphasis on nearby

Spanish allows more word-order flexibility than English, but the basic subject + verb + complement order is the most neutral and most common for learners to use.

Not exactly. Here cerca functions more like an adverb or location expression, not like a regular adjective.

That is why you say:

• está cerca = is nearby

Compare that with a true adjective:

• está próximo / está cercano = is near / close

In everyday Spanish, cerca is extremely common in this kind of sentence.

The plural would be:

Los cruces ciclistas están cerca.

Notice the changes:

• el → los
• cruce → cruces
• ciclista stays ciclistas when pluralized as a describing word
• está → están

So Spanish shows plural in several places, not just one.