Active Transportation Committee says 2024 safety projects cut crashes; urges council to set CIP priorities and press Caltrans on Newport Boulevard/55

Active Transportation Committee Chair Andrew Barnes and Vice Chair Moses Nolf presented the committee’s 2024 annual report to the Costa Mesa City Council on April 15, saying infrastructure changes in 2024 reduced crashes on treated corridors and urging the council to set a prioritized list of capital improvement projects and press Caltrans for safety upgrades on the Newport Boulevard/55 corridor.

The committee said the city installed 4.1 miles of new or improved bikeways in 2024 along with protected bike lane treatments, buffered bike lanes, pedestrian bulb-outs, HAWK signals at West 19th Street and Wallace and at the Lions Park/West 18th and Wilson Park intersections, high-visibility crosswalks, and bike/ped detection with leading pedestrian intervals. The committee highlighted grant success and told the council staff secured roughly $7,900,000 in transportation grant awards that funded many of the projects.

Why this matters: Committee members and staff argued the improvements are not just for people walking and biking but make streets safer for all users, including drivers. The presentation included before-and-after crash tallies for treated segments—most starkly, the committee said an intersection on West 19th Street saw 10 crashes in the 24 months before installations and 1 crash in the six months afterward—figures the committee said show a measurable safety benefit.

What the report recommended: The committee urged the council to (1) adopt a prioritized CIP project list and align future grant applications with it; (2) collect pre‑project baseline street‑use and crash data so future comparisons are meaningful; (3) pursue projects with the explicit goal of reducing collisions to zero‑fatality outcomes; (4) expand education programs aimed at adults as well as youth; (5) consider returning "no turn on red" at known high‑conflict intersections; and (6) use council channels to press Caltrans to improve safety along the 55/Newport Boulevard corridor, which the committee cited as Costa Mesa’s deadliest corridor on its heat map.

Committee makeup and outreach: Barnes said the committee met eight times in 2024, and in 2024 the committee consisted of nine members representing the city’s six districts; Councilmember Arliss Reynolds served as liaison. Committee volunteers supported community events including Earth Day and school safety programs, and the committee said nearly 4,000 participants attended school “bike/walk to school” events in the last year.

Data and caveats: The committee presented city crash data compiled from the police department showing, it said, several hundred reported bike/ped collisions between 2022 and 2024 and nine traffic fatalities. The committee cautioned that crash numbers are based on police reports and that long‑term evaluation requires consistent baseline data. Members asked staff to collect pedestrian and bike counts before projects are installed so the effect of infrastructure on all users can be evaluated.

Council and community reaction: Council members and several public commenters praised the committee’s work and the staff for grant procurement and project delivery. Councilmember Arliss Reynolds thanked volunteers and staff, called the committee’s work a community safety investment and said she has been pursuing information from Caltrans about planned work on the Newport Boulevard/55 corridor. Multiple residents in public comment credited the Placentia/19th safety work with making routes to school and for daily travel safer.

What’s next: The committee said it will prepare a CIP priority list for staff and recommended that future grant applications be aligned with that list. The committee also asked the council to consider requests for small, targeted enforcement and engineering changes such as return of selective no‑turn‑on‑red restrictions at known conflict intersections and continued focus on pedestrian detection timing.

Sources and evidence: The committee’s presentation and the council discussion provided the material summarized here. The presentation included internal city crash data and a slide listing project installations, grant totals and specific locations of treatments.

Ending note: The committee framed its work as street‑safety driven rather than only bicycle‑oriented, arguing the engineering, education and enforcement package benefits motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists alike.