SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Advocacy groups showed up in numbers at the Sacramento City Council meeting Tuesday to demand more action to protect pedestrians and bicyclists in the city.
It came a day after Vice Mayor Caity Maple and Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced their intent to declare a State of Emergency on the issue. Their proposal would create a public education campaign, ramp up enforcement of traffic laws to protect pedestrians and other measures.
Deb Banks, the director of Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, said the points in the proposed declaration are "all wrong."
She said the proposals lacked an equity and mobility justice lens and don't have the teeth needed to create change.
"Increased police enforcement only addresses the symptom, it doesn’t address the root of the problem, and we know that Black and Brown people are disproportionately pulled over for traffic infringements that often escalate to violence," Banks said.
She also recommended dedicating General Funds in the budget to address street design flaws, lowering citywide speed limits and introducing red-light cameras.
"If you run that red light and speed through, you're going to get slammed with a ticket, and I've gotten one. They are steep," Banks said.
Cyclist Julie Berrey said she has had many close calls with drivers who are not paying attention.
She came to recommend "tactical urbanism," or making quick low-cost changes to neighborhoods.
"We could do low-cost temporary measures like throwing down some paint to have a bike lane, or a crosswalk, and we can see how it works before we invest tons of money on things that may or may not work," Berrey said.
Though she was happy that the city was taking the problem seriously, "the proof will be in the pudding," Berrey said.
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