San Diego was selected Wednesday for a $680,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of the Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Program.
The funding will go toward helping the city add a comprehensive speed management plan, a historically disadvantaged community quick build program and slow streets program to the city’s existing Vision Zero Strategy, according to city documents.
“I want to thank the Biden-Harris Administration and Secretary [Pete] Buttigieg for investing in our city’s efforts to create safer streets for all San Diegans,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. “This grant will help the city advance our Vision Zero Strategy by identifying traffic-calming and other safety improvement opportunities in our neighborhoods, with a special focus on making streets safer in our historically disadvantaged communities.”
The specific projects the $680,000 will fund include:
— Comprehensive Speed Management Plan: Developing a comprehensive speed-management plan that identifies areas on the “high-injury network” where speed is the leading collision factor and working to identify high pedestrian/bicyclist activity that would benefit from lower speed limits. The goal of the plan would be to reduce speed limits across the city through complementary tools such as education, outreach and traffic calming;
— Citywide Slow Streets Program: Evaluating and identifying traffic- calming initiatives in neighborhoods across the city with high pedestrian and bike activity. Intended to build on a pilot program in Pacific Beach that increased bicycle activity by 30%, the funds will help develop safe shared spaces, allowing residents to get around their neighborhoods safely;
— Historically Disadvantaged Community Quick Build Program: Helping the city establish a program to evaluate and identify quick build safety projects in the city’s historically disadvantaged communities. The goal is to “deliver roadway, pedestrian and bicycle improvement projects at one-tenth of the cost of traditional capital projects, and in a fifth of the time,” a city statement reads.
“San Diegans depend on safe streets, bike lanes, and sidewalks to get to school, travel to work, and live their everyday lives,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego. “That’s why I was so proud to support the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will direct $680,000 to create safer streets in San Diego, especially in historically disadvantaged communities. This much-needed funding will help our incredible city support and protect our growing population and build for the future.”