This project, funded by a Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) federal grant, is embarking on three distinct efforts (shown below) to reduce traffic related injuries and deaths by lowering speeds and identifying safety projects in areas of acute need. Learn more by navigating through the open house.
Between the Build Better San Diego, Mobility Master Plan, and Bicycle Master Plan efforts – the City has recently studied and engaged our communities to create a transportation system that works for everyone who lives, works, and travels in San Diego. Safe Streets for All San Diegans will integrate and build on these efforts, incorporate what you told us during outreach from those previous efforts, and use those project lists to help focus and validate our approach to creating safety-focused programs.
When we reach out to you, we want you to know that your stories and your feedback are being carried forward into each successive project. Safe Streets for All San Diegans is setting the groundwork for a new transportation planning approach at the City. We want your input on how that comprehensive strategy is crafted. We will build on the following efforts:
In 2015 the City adopted a goal and framework to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our streets in the Vision Zero Strategic Plan (2020). Safety projects are implemented all across the City as funding and resources are available. Additionally, studies and subsequent analysis efforts have highlighted the areas with the highest crashes and the characteristics which increase the potential for crashes. Evaluations are underway to improve these location and Safe Streets for All San Diegans will develop key efforts to support City efforts to reduce the severity of crashes and reach the goal of zero.
The Bicycle Master Plan is San Diego’s strategy to make cycling safe, convenient, and accessible. It aims to create a citywide network of bike lanes, paths, and infrastructure improvements to reduce traffic and promote sustainable mobility. In 2024, the City kicked off the Bicycle Master Plan Update.
Click here to learn more and provide your input.
The Mobility Master Plan serves as the framework for all mobility improvements in the City of San Diego. Project lists created as a part of the Plan, as well as input received about traffic safety issues in the City, will be used to help develop and validate the locations for potential quick-build opportunities.
The City is working to improve roadway conditions through its street resurfacing program. Transportation evaluates each project for opportunities to implement safety, improved striping, and other mobility elements as streets are resurfaced to speed up implementation and lower costs.
The City’s Climate Action Plan was adopted in 2015 and updated in 2022. The plan lays the groundwork to reaching zero emissions through a variety of strategies and prioritizes equity. Safe Streets for All San Diegans will advance this plan by identifying equity focused projects to provide people with options to safely get around without a car.
Community Plan Updates throughout the City identify locations where quick build, traffic calming, safety, and other projects are feasible. Safe Streets for All San Diegans will incorporate, prioritize, and build on relevant projects.
The Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program is a federal grant program which was established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with $5 billion in appropriated funds from 2022-2026. The SS4A program funds regional, local, and Tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. In 2022, the City of San Diego was awarded a $680,000 grant to fund this project.
For more information, check out the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SS4A website here: https://www.transportation.gov/grants/SS4A
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Quick-build projects are installations of infrastructure, such as separated bike lanes, curb extensions, roundabouts and other traffic calming elements, that can be quickly installed using readily available and low-cost pre-approved materials that can be modified as needed. They help to accelerate transportation infrastructure safety projects through their streamlined timeline. Quick builds are distinguished by the types of materials used and duration of project.
Quick builds are not:
There are many benefits to quick build projects, including the ability to:
Generally, materials like plastic posts, paint, and recycled materials are used in quick build projects. For a more comprehensive list and examples, please see the additional resources in the, “Are there additional resources and information on quick build?” section.
Southern California Association of Governments Quick-Build Guide
The City of San Diego is committed to advancing social equity as a foundational principle in the way that we plan our city and engage community members in our many diverse neighborhoods. We acknowledge the effect of historical planning decisions on traditionally underserved communities and community members who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC), and we are dedicated to developing equitable and anti-racist policies that provide access to opportunity and investments in the communities where the needs are the greatest. This project builds upon that foundation to work to make improvements in communities that have historically been neglected.
This project uses two sources for defining disadvantaged communities:
Learn more below about our planning initiatives that prioritize resources, access, and protections for traditionally underserved communities in San Diego.
San Diego Department of Race and Equity
The California Vehicle Code defines how jurisdictions are to set speed limits within their control. The City of San Diego has over 1,500 street segments with speed survey’s that set the enforceable speed limit. This Speed Management Plan will evaluate these surveyed streets for potential changes to improve the safety of all road users.
Higher speeds increase the risk of a crash, as well as the severity of a crash. Speeding significantly escalates the risk of fatal or serious injury crashes, especially for vulnerable roadway users like people biking or walking and people with disabilities or reduced mobility. People walking and biking are overrepresented among traffic deaths in San Diego.
Assembly Bill 43 (AB 43), passed by the California Legislature in 2021, gives the City greater flexibility to lower speed limits in specific areas to protect public safety. Historically, California cities have been required to set speed limits by measuring the current traffic speed, identifying the speed at which 85% of people are driving, and rounded to the nearest 5 miles per hour (mph).
AB 43 allows cities to round down to the nearest 5 mph rather than rounding up if the speed is more than halfway to the next 5 mph. Further, it also allows cities to lower speeds by another 5 mph based on:
AB 43 also allows cities to set a speed limit of either 20 or 25 mph by law in Identified Business activity districts which meet a specific set of criteria, as defined by the state.
In an effort to create safer communities and work toward achieving Vision Zero goals, cities across the country are implementing Slow Streets programs. Slow Streets prioritize people over cars by limiting vehicle access and reducing traffic speeds to create safer spaces for walking, biking, and community activities.
Slow Streets aim to achieve the following goals:
The California Vehicle Code 21101 (f), allows cities to implement slow streets programs which close streets to vehicular traffic or aim to limit vehicle speeds and volumes by using roadway design features. The code requires the city to meet specific criteria to implement such a program, including conducting engagement, maintaining publicly accessible materials, and conducting analysis to identify needs and impacts.
Slow Streets can take many forms. They may use temporary materials left up for a few hours, use quick build materials for interim projects, include traffic calming elements like speed humps and roundabouts, or may be designed as full plazas/promenades. Through the Safe Streets for San Diegans project, we will work with you to define where they should go, what they should look like, and how they should be implemented in San Diego.
The Gaslamp Promenade project created a new public space in the Gaslamp Quarter by closing traffic to vehicles on Fifth Avenue between Broadway and K Street, during certain hours of the day. The Promenade has been embraced by San Diegans, businesses, and visitors alike.
Slow Streets programs across the country have reported major accomplishments in traffic safety: