The city of Sacramento is considering options that are available to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
A recent study by the city found several factors at play in serious injury or fatal crashes. Thirty percent of pedestrians who were seriously injured were over the age of 60, and 85 percent of serious bicycle crashes were on streets with at least a 30 miles-per-hour speed limit.
To increase safety, the city is considering the installation of sensors to detect when a person is in a crosswalk and more concrete or painted buffers between vehicle traffic and bike lanes.
There are other options, too, including new traffic signals, more parking restrictions, and reductions in speed limits.
Hector Barron, director of public works, says the city has already studied the location and factors of 151 fatalities involving vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. He says 79 percent of the crashes occurred on 14 percent of the roadways.
"We're realizing it's a smaller subset of our overall roadways where we're seeing most of our fatalities and severe injuries. So, those are the ones we want to hone in on and address," Barron said.
City Councilmember Eric Guerra says some of the most frequent areas for collisions are in his district.
"Stockton [Boulevard] and Fruitridge [Road], we had a young girl who was run over, which led to a big effort from the community,” he said. “And most recently on Broadway and 65th and Broadway and 53rd, we had another two pedestrian fatalities within a month.”
The highest concentrations of collisions are downtown and in Midtown, in District 4. Almost half of all pedestrian collisions occurred in crosswalks.
A plan to increase safety could be ready next year.
The five areas the city wants to target first: West El Camino, Marysville Road, Stockton Boulevard, Broadway, and Florin Road.
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