West Sacramento Quirina Orozco, right, is sworn in by former West Sacramento mayor and newly elected State Sen. Christopher Cabaldon during a ceremony at the Dec. 4 council meeting. Photo courtesy of the City of West Sacramento

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – West Sacramento City Council members received an update at their Dec. 4 meeting on results of a study identifying dangerous stretches of city streets and intersections and citizen safety concerns.

The “Vision Zero Action Plan” objective is to “significantly reduce” fatalities and serious injuries on city roadways, with the ultimate goal being zero traffic deaths. According to West Sacramento Police Department traffic data used in the study, there were 101 fatal/serious injury (FSI) crashes between 2017 and 2023, with 117 serious injuries and 29 deaths.

Associate transportation planner Steve Rosen said the study, contracted by the city to Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates, combined police department traffic data with public input gathered from face-to-face contact with residents at community gatherings and meetings, along with an online survey. Results indicated respondents did not feel safe on some city streets because of high traffic speed and volumes and had concerns about driver behavior, including impaired or distracted driving, particularly around places where children regularly frequent such as schools and parks.

West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero, right, is sworn into office by her daughter, Elaine Sanchez, during a ceremony at the Dec. 4 council meeting. Photo courtesy of the City of West Sacramento

According to public input, less than two out of 10 respondents felt West Sacramento streets were safe for school-age children to walk or bike along while three out of 10 felt unsafe crossing streets. Nine out of 10 respondents were concerned about “the design and quality” of city streets.

Of the accidents listed in the police data, most occurred between 6 p.m. and midnight Thursdays through Saturdays and on “roads characterized by high speed, high traffic volumes” and the presence of retail/service businesses, schools and parks. Fifty-eight percent of these crashes involved “vulnerable road users,” individuals not protected by a motor vehicle body.

Individuals in the 20 to 29 age range accounted for 26% of the crashes, making that age group overrepresented when compared to their share of the city’s population. Males accounted for 74% of all fatal/serious injury victims, although they represent 49% of residents.

Rosen said they have put together maps showing “high injury locations” in the city, classified as places where two or more accidents have occurred. These locations account for 70% of all accidents in the city, with 79% identified as dangerous by citizen input.

These high injury locations only accounted for 3.5% of West Sacramento streets.

“When we show them (public) that 70% of these fatal or sever injury crashes happen on only 3.5% of our streets, it sends a message that it’s something we can do something about,” Rosen said.

West Sacramento City Councilwoman Norma Alcala, right, is sworn into office by her daughter-in-law, Arlette Alacala, during a ceremony at the Dec. 4 council meeting. Photo courtesy of the City of West Sacramento

Public input also indicated areas of improvement in the city’s transportation system such as better cycling/pedestrian infrastructure, public transit/ADA accessibility, traffic safety education and traffic calming structures. Areas needing reduction are fewer larger vehicles on residential streets, driving violations, poorly maintained roads and dark/unsafe streets.

Rosen told council that the next steps were to identify what safety measures would be useful and appropriate for the city, followed by creating criteria for meeting community safety goals and developing and prioritizing projects to meet these concerns. Council members expressed a desire to ensure as many residents as possible were aware of the Vision Zero Action Plan so they could provide input on their concerns.

The study was paid for by a $280,000 federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant, with the city providing $70,000 in matching funds and an additional $27,966 to allow for a 10% project contingency.