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Important updates about street safety in Alameda:
Today the City announced the second traffic fatality of 2023, in which a person driving at a high speed failed to stop at a stop sign, then collided with two cars at San Antonio Ave and Willow St. An 89 year old passenger in one of the other vehicles died after the crash. The first 2023 fatality occurred at Mecartney Road and Marcuse Street on February 7, when a driver struck a person walking across Mecartney. Every traffic collision death affects loved ones and the community, and we mourn for each loss.
As a Vision Zero city, Alameda holds post-collision site visits for all fatal collisions and is developing a Rapid Response After Fatal Crashes program. As part of this, staff have begun work with an engineering firm to develop quick-build improvements at Mecartney/Marcuse/Baywalk and two similar intersections nearby (Mecartney/Verdenar/Ironwood and Mecartney/Fontana/Baywood).
The City has also posted descriptions of the 2 fatal and 13 severe injury crashes in 2022, as well as first quarter 2023 collision numbers. Both are available via the Vision Zero webpage.
In case you missed it, on March 30 the City issued a press release reminding community members that poor visibility while driving is an urgent matter. Read the release: Pedestrians Have Died Because of People Driving When They Couldn't See
Safety tips include:
- Before driving, defrost your windshields and make sure they are clean, inside and out. Fog and grime that look okay in your driveway can obscure vision in the sun.
- Wear sunglasses and use the car’s sun visor as needed.
- Reduce your speed, especially approaching intersections.
- Watch out for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists.
- Adjust travel plans (time or route) to avoid sun glare.
- If you really can’t see, safely pull over until you can. It’s not worth the risk.
The City has been awarded over $2.3 million in funding from a One Bay Area Grant to construct a roundabout on Central Avenue/Fourth Street/Ballena Boulevard. Roundabouts reduce severe and fatal crashes by 78-82 percent when compared to conventional stop-controlled and signalized intersections, and staff conducted additional outreach to neighbors of this intersection before applying for the grant.
In 2021 the City Council approved four roundabouts as part of the Central Avenue Safety Improvement Project, but only two of them were funded at that point: Central/Main/Pacific and Central/Third/Taylor. Construction on the Central Avenue project, including all three roundabouts now funded, will begin this year. The fourth roundabout, at Central/Sherman/Encinal, remains unfunded.
The City Council recently endorsed design concepts for major street improvements for the Clement Avenue Extension/Tilden Way project and the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific Corridor.
These two projects will improve safety for all road users at locations prioritized on the High Injury Corridor maps in the Vision Zero Action Plan.
View this map to see where else street improvements are planned in 2023! Note that the Pavement Resurfacing and Safety Improvements program is done in segments of the city, and Bay Farm is next in line.
The City released an interactive storymap showing locations of 2022 intersection safety improvements. Want to see where new rapid flashing beacons were installed at crosswalks, which improvements happened near schools, or where officers conducted traffic stops in 2022? The storymap provides that information and more!
Thank you to the 50+ people who came to the April 3 Traffic Safety Open House! We appreciated the chance to share information and hear your ideas and concerns. Many people completed the Information Scavenger Hunt, and one lucky participant won a reflective/LED umbrella. Couldn't make it to the event? You can read the 2022 Vision Zero Annual Report and submit your Street Safety Concern.
Join us at these upcoming events!
You can always check the transportation webpage for a list of upcoming events.
Contact us
VisionZero@alamedaca.gov
www.AlamedaCA.gov/VisionZero
Your Measure B and Measure BB Transportation Sales Tax dollars keep transportation going in Alameda!
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