West Sacramento council adopts Vision Zero goal: 50% fewer deadly or serious crashes in 10 years

The West Sacramento City Council on June 4 adopted a Vision Zero Action Plan and a city goal to reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries 50% within 10 years.

The plan, funded in part by a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant, combines crash data and community input to target a small share of streets where most severe collisions occur. "Vision 0 is about creating a safer system of transportation," said Steven Rosen, transportation staff, during a presentation summarizing the analysis and recommended actions.

Rosen told the council staff compiled seven years of crash records and community reports to identify high-injury locations. "Seventy percent of the FSI crashes occur on just 3 and a half percent of streets in West Sacramento," he said, citing fatal and serious-injury (FSI) statistics from the study period. The plan pairs that mapping with a menu of countermeasures — from lighting and speed-management to infrastructure "quick-build" projects and longer-term design changes.

Staff recommended an outcome-based, achievable goal rather than an audacious target. "Our study period had a mean of 14.5 FSI crashes per year, and we recommend a goal of 50 percent reduction in 10 years and then a continuous reduction thereafter until we reach 0," Rosen said. The council discussion addressed community concerns including lighting, sidewalks and truck traffic in industrial corridors.

Councilmembers asked for regular progress briefings; staff agreed to annual reporting and said priority projects would be integrated into project lists and the five-year capital program. Rosen said the plan will include five priority capital projects that target specific road segments or intersections and an implementation menu explaining which countermeasure prevents which crash types.

After the discussion the council voted unanimously to accept the Vision Zero Action Plan and adopt the 50% reduction goal. Mayor Pro Tem Sulpizio Hall moved the motion; Councilmember Roscoe seconded. Council roll call recorded five ayes and no noes.

Council and staff said the plan will advance through design and grant-funded implementation, and that some countermeasures (lighting, pedestrian refuge islands, speed calming) will be advanced more quickly where data and community input support them.

The council approved the plan with direction to return with annual progress updates and to coordinate engineering, enforcement and education in neighborhoods identified as high-injury corridors.