Sacramento’s Traffic Safety Crisis Could Be Declared a Public Emergency

With the city suffering from California’s highest traffic crash death rate, Sacramento officials are debating an emergency declaration that would dedicate increased funding and resources to traffic safety efforts.

As Melanie Curry reports for Streetsblog California, an initial declaration proposed by Vice Mayor Caity Maple was withdrawn after road safety advocate called it “ineffective” and “not anywhere near enough.”

Proponent Kiara Reed of Civic Thread said “Roadway design is an effective way to reduce traffic fatalities, and this should be a priority,” adding that “The council needs to focus on equity, and on countermeasures that actually reduce fatalities. It also needs to fund the Public Works department to address design flaws” rather than increasing policing.

Last year, the city’s Active Transportation Commission produced a street safety report that included a series of recommendations later rejected by the city manager. According to Curry, “Vice Mayor Maple mentioned a "roundtable discussion" that could help shape the declaration. She and advocates for housing and transportation and transit plan to meet on October 4 to find alignment on what it should say.”