A San Jose task force aimed at finding ways to eliminate traffic deaths is folding at the end of the year — and while road safety improvements have been made, the city still has work to do in reducing fatalities.
San Jose saw its highest rate of traffic fatalities in recent history in 2022 with 65 reported deaths. That number dropped to 49 last year, according to the task force for Vision Zero, which the city launched in 2020 to reduce traffic deaths by improving and optimizing roads. As a final assignment, the task force of city officials, employees and community advocates is developing a new five-year plan to proactively increase road safety that will soon fall on the San Jose City Council to enforce. Councilmembers will need to adopt the plan later this year.
District 9 Councilmember and task force Chair Pam Foley said the plan will consider accountability measures to ensure the city meets its goals of reducing traffic fatalities even without the task force, which includes examining the most effective road safety improvements.