How San Diego plans to lower speed limits
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Work in progress. Photo: Claire Trageser/Axios
Funding to lower speed limits on some streets isn't included in San Diego's proposed budget, but city officials say the plan will still get the money it needs.
Why it matters: Efforts to slow speeds got renewed attention last year after multiple children were killed by drivers, and city spokesperson Anthony Santacroce told Axios that improving street safety is a high priority.
Driving the news: The City Council voted Thursday to use $2.4 million in state gas tax funds, called the Road Maintenance & Rehabilitation Fund, on the plan, according to a council staff report.
- That was after Mayor Todd Gloria's budget proposal didn't include a line item for the Comprehensive Speed Management Plan.
- The funding will be in Gloria's revised budget in May, Santacroce said.
Catch up quick: The plan would lower speed limits on 20% of roads, with business district limits dropping to 20mph or 25mph.
- School zones would go down to 15 mph, 20 mph within 500 feet, and 25 mph within 1,000 feet.
Zoom in: The mayor's budget also has $60 million for sidewalks, streetlights, bike lanes and traffic signals, Santacroce said.
- It includes fixes at what are known as the "Fatal 15," the intersections ranked as most dangerous by the nonprofit Circulate San Diego.
Yes, but: Residents who live near other intersections also say they need fixes now.
- A mile from where an 11-year-old boy was killed by a driver last year, Rose Woods has been trying to get a stop sign at the entrance to Lake Murray Community Park.
- She told Axios she'd like city officials to come watch the cars speed by as kids are trying to cross.
- "It raises a simple question: Would any of us feel comfortable sending our own kids across that intersection while cars are still moving that fast?" she told Axios.
The city budget also cuts 14 Transportation Department positions known as the Multimodal Team.
- This team worked on designing bike lanes that could be added when a road was being repaved.
- Without the team, a road will have the same bike-less lane lines and road stripes, Santacroce said.
"Obviously, that's a huge problem and catastrophic for mobility and safety for cyclists," Aria Grossman, Circulate San Diego's policy manager, told Axios. "But it's also not just bike projects; they also do all of the striping crosswalks, safety improvements, traffic flow improvements."
- Cutting the team would save $2.4 million, but not from the general fund.
- "So it's not like cutting this would save a library or a rec center or keep any park bathrooms open," Grossman said.
What's next: The City Council will begin reviewing the budget this week, and the mayor will release a revised budget in early May.
- The council will vote on it in June.