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Family of pedestrian killed on Bryant Street urges council to act on lighting and traffic safety
Summary
A Yucaipa resident told the council her nephew died on Bryant Street and urged immediate safety measures including lighting, sidewalks, radar speed signage and traffic calming; she cited city traffic data showing dozens of serious pedestrian or cyclist strikes from 2017–2023.
At the Jan. 12 meeting of the Yucaipa City Council, Tatiana Volhart told elected officials that her nephew, Ryan Riddles, was struck and killed near his driveway on Bryant Street on New Year's evening and urged the council to take steps to make the corridor safer for pedestrians, cyclists and runners.
Volhart said the segment of Bryant Street where the crash occurred is very dark, carries a 45 mph speed limit and lacks sidewalks on one side. She urged improved lighting, radar feedback signs, additional signage, speed reductions and other traffic‑calming measures. ‘‘Something has to change before another family stands behind this podium on another night,’’ she said.
Volhart cited a traffic and safety dataset she said showed 71 pedestrians, runners or cyclists struck in Yucaipa from 2017 through 2023 that resulted in serious injuries or a fatality, and said adding 2016 data would bring the total to 97; she noted those totals did not include 2024–2025. Staff did not provide on‑the‑record verification of those totals during the meeting.
The council did not take immediate action on this single request but the item illustrates an ongoing public safety concern that several councilmembers referenced elsewhere in the meeting when discussing traffic enforcement and public safety committee scheduling. One councilmember asked staff to work with the sheriff to schedule a public safety committee meeting to revisit focused traffic enforcement areas. That committee scheduling request was supported by the mayor and staff during the meeting.
What’s next: Volhart’s remarks were part of the public‑comment record. Council direction earlier in the meeting included a request to the city manager to work with the sheriff’s office to schedule a public safety committee meeting; that committee could consider Bryant Street and similar locations for specific traffic‑calming or lighting projects.
