Sacramento City Council discuss state of emergency proposal for deadly crashes involving pedestrians
SACRAMENTO — Traffic safety advocates say the growing number of people being killed in crashes on Sacramento streets is a public health crisis.
On Tuesday, a committee of Sacramento city leaders unanimously approved declaring a state of emergency to help make immediate changes.
Julie Berrey is a bicyclist familiar with the dangers on city streets.
"I have had a number of close calls and I certainly know people who have been hit," she said.
There have been 31 people killed by cars on Sacramento city streets so far this year. Last year, that number was 55 — an all-time high.
The emergency declaration would require police to increase traffic enforcement and direct the public works department to install new traffic safety measures in the highest-risk areas.
"There are a number of quick build kinds of projects that we can do that can delineate spaces for cyclists and for cars and for pedestrians," Berrey said.
New city research shows which neighborhoods have the highest number of traffic collisions. The below heat map outlines where the most people have been killed over the last dozen years.
"The community has really said something needs to be done about this," said Isaac Gonzalez, founder of Slow Down Sacramento.
The research also shows that the most dangerous time of the week is Saturday between 9 p.m. and midnight.
"It's terrifying when you think about it that any of us could be walking, cycling, just being out in our community and we could be killed," Berrey said.
Supporters say more safety efforts are worth the investment and will help meet the city's "vision zero" goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities by 2027.
"We're not talking about millions of dollars. We're talking about thousands of dollars," Gonzalez said. "We can spend this money now and save lives."
Members of the city council on Tuesday will discuss the state of emergency proposal in a committee hearing. It will need to be passed by the full city council at a future meeting before taking effect.