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MEDIA CONTACT: Sophia Rome
EMAIL: sophiar@ci.salinas.ca.us
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CONTACT TITLE: Community Relations Mgr / PIO
PHONE: (831) 758-7407
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Traffic and Pedestrian Safety in Salinas
Salinas, CA – Last night’s fatal hit and run was a tragic event, and our hearts go out to the victim’s family.
“Thank you to the witness that stepped forward,” said City Manager René Mendez. “You played a crucial role in helping Salinas Police Department find the suspect, and your actions truly reinforce the power of community involvement.”
In response to growing concerns for traffic safety, the Salinas Police Department has increased efforts to mitigate dangerous behavior on the road, like sideshows, groups of youth on bikes blocking traffic, and general traffic enforcement. While last night’s incident is not believed to be related to these activities, it's a tragic event that could have been avoided.
“The Salinas Police Department is continuing to invest its resources in keeping our streets safe,” said Acting Salinas Police Chief John Murray. “This is a reminder to all of us that accidents can have fatal outcomes. Let’s all try to pay extra attention on the road, slow down, and avoid distracted driving.”
The topic of pedestrian safety has been an ongoing conversation with the community. The collaborative effort in the creation and adoption of the Alisal Vibrancy Plan has informed the development of the Alisal Streetscape Master Plan (SMP), which incorporates traffic and pedestrian safety data and recommendations. The Alisal SMP is scheduled to be presented to the City Council in November. However, there are several community engagement opportunities leading up to the presentation to Council:
- Overview Presentation to the Traffic and Transportation Commission
- Presentation of the Draft Alisal SMP to the Traffic and Transportation Commission
- Oct. 10th at 6PM at the Rotunda, 200 Lincoln Ave.
- Presentation of the Final Draft Alisal SMP to the City Council
- Nov. 19th (tentative) at the Rotunda, 200 Lincoln Ave.
Other recent City plans focused on traffic and pedestrian safety include the Williams Road Improvement Project being partially funded through a $16 million grant form the Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets for All (SS4A) program to begin implementing safety improvements, as well as the Active Transportation Plan being presented to Council on September 24th.
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