One of San Jose’s most dangerous roads is gearing up for a major upgrade.
King Road, a six-mile street bounded by Berryessa Road to the north and East Capitol Expressway to the south, is slated for improvements. The city’s transportation department is finalizing a plan that targets safety and traffic flow. From 2018 to 2023, eight people, including an infant, were killed on King Road and 21 were seriously injured due to collisions from 2018 to 2022, according to city data.
Rosie Lopez, manager of medical clinic Milagros de México, located at the intersection of Story Road and King Road, said the street needs more safety features to address its danger.
“(Drivers) don’t keep their distance,” she told San José Spotlight. “There’s no safety.”
The plan — funded with more than $399,000 from a Caltrans grant and more than $51,700 from the city — will be a collaboration between San Jose and Vision Zero, a program aimed at reducing and ending traffic injuries and fatalities. The draft includes improvements for the entire street, such as a median at some sections of the road, a bus and emergency vehicle-only lane and more crosswalks. The average distance between crosswalks is roughly 1,000 feet, Project Manager Wilson Tam said, which is about a five-minute walk.