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After child’s death, Bakersfield councilors press for Vision Zero measures and new traffic-safety steps
Summary
Public commenters and councilmembers pressed for stronger traffic enforcement and infrastructure changes after an 8-year-old’s fatal crash; Vice Mayor Gonzales referred school-zone prioritization, an online traffic-calming database, a crossing-guard program and other steps for staff and committees to pursue.
Public speakers and councilmembers used the Oct. 23 Bakersfield City Council meeting to press for accelerated traffic-safety measures after an 8-year-old boy was killed near Franklin Elementary School.
Justin Pfeiffer, during public comment, urged the council to adopt Vision Zero Kern and to "get the police on board and get the enforcement on board," saying motor-vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death in the U.S. Vice Mayor Gonzales described the victim, identified by city staff as Ricardo "Richie," and said distracted driving appeared central to the incident. Gonzales formally asked the multimodal transportation and traffic safety ad hoc committee to prioritize school zones and to be converted into a standing committee. Gonzales told staff to confirm that the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) represents minimum standards and to explore adopting stricter local standards for streets and intersections adjacent to schools.
Gonzales outlined a multi-pronged set of referrals and requests to staff: create a public online database showing neighborhood traffic-calming requests and status; establish a program to provide additional crossing-guard capacity beyond what school districts supply; use the city’s Sacramento lobbyists to push for higher state fines for speeding and distracted driving in school zones; and analyze Bakersfield Police Department staffing for traffic enforcement (the meeting record cites roughly 40 officers currently assigned to traffic patrol covering about 3,300 lane miles).
Councilmember Smith and others endorsed the engineering/education/enforcement approach. Smith said the city has begun engineering changes to slow traffic and stressed a need for expanded enforcement and public education. Councilmembers asked staff to return with details and analyses to support the referrals; no ordinance or funding vote was recorded at the meeting.
Next steps recorded in the meeting included the Vice Mayor’s referrals to the multimodal committee and requests for staff analysis and program development; staff will be asked to report back at a future council meeting or committee session.
