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Council members and residents urge Caltrans action after nine recent fatalities on Sonoma Boulevard
Summary
Subcommittee discussion and public comments centered on traffic safety after staff disclosed nine of the city's 25 recent fatal collisions occurred on Sonoma Boulevard. Council members asked staff to escalate outreach to Caltrans, pursue immediate lighting and traffic-calming measures, and apply for traffic-safety grants.
Vallejos Public Safety Subcommittee focused attention on Sonoma Boulevard after the police operations briefing reported that nine of 25 fatal collisions in 2024—1 had occurred on that state-controlled corridor.
DC Knight presented the collision list and said staff are coordinating quarterly with traffic engineering and intend to invite Caltrans to participate. He noted one case was being evaluated for possible criminal culpability and the department would flag that separately in follow-up reports.
Council members and residents urged faster state engagement and immediate safety measures. One council member said the states $130 million repaving program provides an opportunity to ensure the repaving includes traffic-calming, lighting and other safety upgrades where most collisions occurred. Several speakers urged the city manager to call Caltrans and to publicly press for action; staff agreed to pursue invitations and further coordination.
Staff also said the department will apply for an Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) grant that could fund DUI saturation patrols, checkpoints and a traffic safety marketing campaign.
Public commenters who live adjacent to Sonoma Boulevard described collisions spilling into residential areas and urged temporary closures or speed tables while larger projects proceed. Staff acknowledged that some earlier grant or survey steps had not been completed and recommended revisiting options including lighting, interim engineering measures and closer coordination with state agencies.
The subcommittee directed staff to continue follow-up, to ask the city manager to engage Caltrans, and to report back with recommended next steps and any funding requests for council consideration.
