As Sacramento grapples with a grim tally of traffic-related fatalities, city officials are moving to implement a rapid response to enhance safety on one of its most treacherous stretches of road. Marysville Boulevard, long recognized for its high accident rates, is slated for substantial safety modifications under the ambitious Vision Zero Safety Project. According to a report by KCRA, the improvements will include revamped bike lanes, pedestrian-friendly traffic signals, and extensive pavement repair, with a price tag of about $18 million.
These safety measures can’t come soon enough for a corridor that has seen at least six deaths since 2017. A “quick-build” approach aims to fast-track a temporary fix for the deadliest mile of road while more permanent solutions languish in funding limbo, as stated in an article from The Sacramento Bee. The interim solution, funded by the city’s Quick-Build Safety Program, will concentrate on trimming down travel lanes and erecting new traffic signals to slow down the pace of moving vehicles and prevent further loss of life.
Despite the scale of the endeavor, this boulevard of broken dreams could be transformed into a safer passage, for pedestrians, and cyclists alike. “We have shops in the area. So we have people walking because of that or turning in and out of driveways. But we want to make the street safer for people who are pedestrians and for cyclists,” Councilmember Roger Dickinson told KCRA. Local business owner Joel Iniguez echoed these concerns, recounting instances of reckless driving that have left his signposts collateral damage in a high-speed urban raceway…