Palo Alto reviews draft Safe Streets for All safety action plan, seeks input on quick-build projects and equity mapping

PALO ALTO — City transportation staff and consultants presented a draft Safe Streets for All safety action plan at a March 3 study session, asking the City Council for feedback on a proposed quick-build program, a safety-focused resolution and a five-year implementation framework intended to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on city streets.

The presentation was led by Sylvia Starlak, transportation planning manager for the Office of Transportation, and consultant Ashley Takushi. Starlak told the council the plan is intended to unlock federal, state and regional funding opportunities — including eligibility for federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants — and to institutionalize safety into project prioritization, design trade-offs and ongoing policies.

The plan centers on a “safe system” approach, Starlak and Takushi said, combining engineering, speed management, public-health framing and outreach to anticipate human error, limit transfer of kinetic energy in crashes and share responsibility for safety across agencies and road users. A high‑injury network (HIN) derived from crash records spanning 2018–2022 shows that 63% of collisions occur on about 4% of Palo Alto’s roadway miles, the staff presentation said.

Why it matters: The city’s transportation emissions and a growing housing supply increase the need to move more people in limited roadway space, Starlak said, and the council direction would help make Palo Alto eligible for competitive safety grants. The plan aims to increase walking, biking and transit use by…