SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento could declare a state of emergency over the road safety crisis as pedestrians and bicyclists have been either killed or injured by vehicles.
Vice Mayor Caity Maple announced the proposal on social media. She added that Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Councilmember Karina Talamantes will be introducing a proposal that:
- Declares a state of emergency for the City of Sacramento regarding the road safety crisis.
- Directs the City Manager to identify funding for a public education campaign focused on driver education, pedestrian/bicyclist awareness and traffic safety.
- Directs the City Manager to work with the Sacramento Police Department to ramp up enforcement of traffic laws that protect pedestrians, including speed limit enforcement, crosswalk violations and distracted driving, especially in high-injury corridors.
- Reaffirms our commitment to Vision Zero and directs staff to expedite safety projects
“This year alone, it has been one thing after another,” Maple tells ABC10. “
The proposal comes during Pedestrian Safety Month in California. The message is to remind drivers to slow down and be alert.
Smart Growth America released its Dangerous by Design 2024 report and found the Sacramento region ranked 20th, highlighting dangerous U.S. cities for pedestrians. Four other California cities were ranked above Sacramento: Bakersfield (4), Fresno (7), Riverside-San Bernardino (12) and Stockton (19).
“This is a very, very urgent problem,” Maple said.
Councilmember Maple said a crash on Sutterville Road Thursday night critically injured a woman who was crossing the road, which was in her district and forced her to act.
“It just sent me through a spin, and I said, 'I just cannot sit here anymore,'” Maple said. “As long as people think that they can get away with it. They are probably going to continue to do it. It is time to do something. This may not fix everything overnight, but we got to try.”
Sacramento leaders did approve Vision Zero, which seeks to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2027. This proposal hopes to reaffirm that commitment and direct staff to speed up safety projects.
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