San Diego budget axes multimodal team at DOT

The city of San Diego's draft budget for fiscal year 2027 makes significant cuts to road safety and multimodal transportation funding, reports Damien Newton in Streetsblog California.

According to Newton,

Specifically, the budget calls for the elimination of the multi-modal team in the transportation department – the traffic engineers who plan and design street elements that make roads safer for all users. According to early reporting, funding cuts would also scale back or delay bike lane projects and other traffic safety improvements that are already in the works.

Safe streets advocates sounded the alarm, noting that the city is seeing a steady growth in traffic deaths despite its Vision Zero pledge. Respect Bird Rock, a local advocacy group, emphasized in a statement that the Citywide Speed Management Plan, which would lower speed limits across the city, remains unfunded. 

The budget does retain funding for addressing safety at the "Fatal 15," the most dangerous intersections and corridors in the city. "These projects have been a central focus of San Diego’s Vision Zero strategy, targeting these locations with engineering fixes such as signal upgrades, safer crossings, and traffic calming measures."