Draft_Safety_Action_Plan.pdf

Road Safety Action Plan

JULY 2026 | REVISED DRAFT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This plan was funded by a Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant from the U.S.

Department of Transportation.

CITY COUNCIL

• Mayor Fred Keeley

• Vice Mayor Shebreh Kalantari-

Johnson (District 3)

• Councilmember Gabriela Trigueiro

(District 1)

• Councilmember Sonja Brunner

(District 2)

• Councilmember Scott Newsome (District 4)

• Councilmember Susie O’Hara (District 5)

• Councilmember Renee Golder (District 6)

TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSION

• Susan Gilchrist (Vice Chair)

• Ron Goodman

• Scott Harriman

• Kyle Kelley

• Ryan Meckel (Chair)

• Dustin Mulvaney

• Carlina Rose

SAFETY ACTION PLAN WORKING GROUP

• Caltrans – Paul Guirguis, Madilyn Jacobson

• Ecology Action – Matt Miller, Bennett Williamson

• Santa Cruz County Public Health – Kelly Curlett

• City Manager’s Office – Meredith Albert, Ashley Hussey, Michelle Templeton

• Fire Department – Ian Burnham, Tim Shields

• Police Department - Cathy Brothers, Trevor Kendall, Katherine Lee, Wes Morey, Benjamin

Whaley

• Resource Recovery – Manuel Ortiz

• Stormwater – Katie Stewart

• Sustainability – Tiffany Wise-West

• Transportation Engineering - Amelia Conlen, Danilo Cabreros, Kevin Crossley, Dan

Estranero, Claire Gallogly, Chris Martinez, Matt Starkey, Ricardo Valdes

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Introduction 5 What is a Road Safety Action plan? 6 Why Does Santa Cruz Need This Plan? 6

Commitment to Road Safety in Santa Cruz 7 Connection to the Santa Cruz Active Transportation Plan 8

The Safe System Approach 9 Principles 9 Elements 10

Chapter 2 What does the data say about road safety in Santa Cruz? 11 Understanding Crash Data and Data Limitations 12 Crash Trends 13

Who is Involved in Crashes? 15 When are Crashes Occurring? 18 What is Contributing to Crashes? 20

Where are Crashes Happening? 24 High Injury Network 24 High Injury Intersections 25 High Risk Network 27 Priority Network 29

Chapter 3 What do people say about road safey in Santa Cruz? 31 Safety Action Plan Working Group 32 Community Outreach and the Santa Cruz Active Transportation Plan 33

Chapter 4 Issues and Opportunities 34 Issues 35

Vulnerable Road Users 35 State-Owned Roadways 35 Emergency Response Constraints 37 Alcohol-Involved Crashes 37

Opportunities 38 State Enabling Legislation 38

Collaboration 38

Chapter 5 Safe System Recommendations 39 Policy and Programs 41 Crash Emphasis Areas 43 Funding 44 Education and Awareness 45

Chapter 6 Safer Roads Recommendations 46 Proven Safety Countermeasures 47 Systemic Recommendations 48 Priority Corridors 49

Ocean Street (Plymouth Street to Soquel Avenue) 49 Laurel Street (Mission Street to Front Street) 53 Water Street (River Street to Morrissey Boulevard) 57

Chapter 7 What happens next? 61 Coordination 62 Performance Measures 62 Transparency 63 Call to Action 63

Information contained in this document is for planning purposes and should not be used for final design of any project. All results, recommendations, concept drawings, cost opinions, and commentary contained herein are based on limited data and information and on existing conditions that are subject to change. Existing conditions have not been field-verified. Further analysis and engineering design are necessary prior to implementing any of the recommendations contained herein.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS A ROAD SAFETY ACTION PLAN?

The Santa Cruz Road Safety Action Plan (SAP) provides a data-driven, actionable roadmap for the elimination of fatal and serious injury crashes in Santa Cruz. It includes a review of previous plans and efforts, an analysis of past crashes and risk factors, and a summary of community input on road safety in the city. This plan identifies multiple recommendations for policy and programmatic changes, as well as roadway infrastructure changes, to improve road safety outcomes in the City of Santa Cruz.

The information contained in this report will provide a foundation for decision making, prioritization of safety countermeasures, and support the city in seeking funding to construct projects that enhance safety for all road users in the city.

WHY DOES SANTA CRUZ NEED THIS PLAN?

In Santa Cruz, between 2020 and 2024, 16 people died and 94 were seriously injured in crashes while traveling in the city. On average, there were 22 people per year whose lives were significantly impacted or ended by traffic crashes.

Table 1. Summary of reported crashes in Santa Cruz, 2020-2024.

626 Reported crashes

94 People seriously injured in crashes

16 People killed in fatal crashes

Although crashes can occur to anyone at any time, local and national data show that fatal and/or serious injury crashes disproportionately affect certain populations. Vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, bicyclists, and others traveling outside a vehicle, are more likely to be killed or seriously injured than a motor vehicle occupant. People who are unhoused experience several types of vulnerability - they are more likely to rely on walking and bicycling to travel, and more likely to be out of doors at night when lighting and visibility concerns lead to higher rates of fatal and serious injury crashes.

COMMITMENT TO ROAD SAFETY IN SANTA CRUZ

Santa Cruz has demonstrated a commitment to road safety through a variety of measures over the years. The city adopted a Vision Zero resolution on August 27, 2019, setting a goal to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries on city streets by 2030. In 2021, the city completed a Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP) that outlined actions the city could take in implementing safety improvements on its roads. Since then, the City has focused policies, planning, and implementation efforts towards achieving this goal, including:

• Constructing Rail Trail Segment 7, improving safety and connectivity for people walking and bicycling,

• Installing separated bike lanes (Class IV) on Water Street, and designing and installing separated bike lanes on Bay Street,

• Upgrading traffic signals with retroreflective backplates and technology to provide advanced dilemma zone detection,

• Painting red curb and installing quick-build curb extensions to improve visibility at intersections, and

• Leveraging routine repaving projects to narrow travel lanes and install bicycle facilities and pedestrian crossings.

Despite these efforts, crashes have continued to occur, resulting in injuries and deaths. This SAP introduces a new framework for thinking about traffic safety called the Safe System Approach.

To allow the City and its partners time to incorporate this approach into policies, programs, and infrastructure projects, the target year of the City’s original Vision Zero resolution is being updated as well. While this SAP reaffirms the City’s commitment to eliminating deaths and serious injuries, it recognizes that that there is more work to be done and sets a more realistic timeline, updating the City’s target year to 2050.

By adopting the Safe System Approach and implementing the recommendations in this Safety Action Plan, the City of Santa Cruz will eliminate deaths and serious injuries on city roadways by 2050.

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SANTA CRUZ ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN

The Santa Cruz Active Transportation Plan (ATP) Update was adopted in April 2026. The vision of the plan is to promote Santa Cruz as a place where people of all ages and physical abilities can access safe, convenient, and enjoyable ways of getting around through walking, biking, and rolling.

The Active Transportation Plan is focused on transportation policies, programs, and projects that improve the system for people who walk, bike, and roll. The Safety Action Plan is focused on everyone on our roadways: people walking, biking, taking transit, and driving.

Most of the City’s fatal and serious injury crashes (67%) involve people walking or biking, even though most trips in Santa Cruz are made by car. Concerns about the safety of walking and biking featured prominently during the outreach for the ATP Update. While this SAP addresses all road users, it also builds on the recommendations in the ATP Update, since meaningful reductions in serious and fatal crashes require reducing the number of crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists.

THE SAFE SYSTEM APPROACH

The Santa Cruz SAP is rooted in the Safe System Approach,1 which acknowledges human mistakes and vulnerabilities and encourages comprehensive and proactive steps to prevent serious injuries and fatalities on roadways. This approach acknowledges that people can and will fail, but that our systems should be designed so that when this happens, it does not result in death and serious injury. A key component of this is shifting from an individual view of roadway safety to a collective view.

The Safe System Approach has six key principles and five elements that work in tandem to create a safe system. Strengthening all the elements creates layers of protection against harm on the roads.

PRINCIPLES

• Deaths and serious injuries are unacceptable. Individuals should not die or face life-altering injuries when traveling from place to place.

• Humans make mistakes. Mistakes are an inevitable part of being human, but the transportation system can be designed to prevent these mistakes from becoming fatal.

• Humans are vulnerable. Human bodies have physical limits for tolerating crash forces before death or serious injury occurs.

• Responsibility is shared. Everyone has a role in preventing fatalities and serious injuries on roadways – not just drivers.

• Safety is proactive. It shouldn’t take a fatal or serious injury crash for change to occur.

Proactive changes can improve safety outcomes.

• Redundancy is crucial. Having multiple layers of protection in the transportation system allows for life-saving safety improvements when one element fails.

1 https://www.transportation.gov/safe-system-approach https://www.transportation.gov/safe-system-approach

ELEMENTS

• Safer People – All road users play a role in improving roadway safety, whether walking, driving, biking, or rolling.

• Safer Speeds – Safe travel speeds should be encouraged through context-sensitive design, education, and outreach. Physics clearly demonstrates that the faster an object is traveling and the heavier the object is, the more serious the damage that will occur. By reducing speeds and kinetic energy forces, fatal crashes can be avoided.

• Safer Vehicles – While emerging vehicle technologies improve safety for those inside vehicles, the growth in vehicle sizes over the past decade has led to more severe injuries to those outside of vehicles. Safer vehicles for all road users are a crucial aspect of the Safe System.

• Safer Roads – Strategies can include separating users in space and time, as well as increasing attentiveness and awareness. Roadway design elements, such as providing protected, dedicated infrastructure for all travel modes can reduce the severity of roadway injuries.

• Post-Crash Care – Survivability of crashes can be improved drastically by providing access to appropriate emergency medical care.

Figure 1. The "Swiss Cheese Model", which highlights the role that redundancy plays in the transportation system.

CHAPTER 2

WHAT DOES THE

DATA SAY ABOUT

ROAD SAFETY IN

SANTA CRUZ?

UNDERSTANDING CRASH DATA AND DATA

LIMITATIONS

Crash data is the main tool used to understand how and where people are severely injured or killed while traveling. When someone reports or police respond to a crash that injures or kills someone, a police report is generated to document the details of the crash. These details include the locations, contributing factors, and some basic information about the people involved.

This plan uses data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) for the most recent five years of available data (2020-2024). This data can be explored on the Data Dashboard, an interactive map that can be filtered by year, travel mode, and contributing factors.

Although crash reports are generally the best way to obtain information about a large quantity of crashes, they have some of the following limitations:

• The total number of crashes may be higher than captured because of unreported crashes, which may occur for a variety of reasons.

• Crashes that don’t involve motor vehicles, such as a crash between a bicyclist and pedestrian, are frequently not reported.

• Crash severity may be underreported because the law enforcement officials who complete police reports typically don’t have medical training, and victims of crashes may be unaware of internal injuries masked by adrenaline.

• The analysis and Safety Action Plan is focused on fatal and serious injury crashes, rather than all reported crashes, given the life altering impact of those crashes. By targeting safety improvements to reduce these crashes, the overall safety of roadways will be improved.

• Crash reports may not document the role of speeding in crashes, as first responders are typically on the scene after the crash occurred and witnesses outside a crash are not typically interviewed about operator speed.

• The City of Santa Cruz generally does not take collision reports on Property Damage Only (PDO) crashes.

In addition to these issues with crash reports, there is no data available that speaks to near misses or the self-limiting behavior of travelers who don’t feel safe on certain roadways. For example, there may not be any fatal and serious injury pedestrian crashes on a particular roadway not because the conditions are safe, but because people walking tend to avoid using that route based on their perception of safety. All of these factors mean that while the crash analyses conducted for this section are useful and informative, they are not perfect and present only one piece of the story.

https://cruzgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/cae4695bc811453f8f37e1639044076e

CRASH TRENDS

To establish an understanding of roadway safety in Santa Cruz, the project team reviewed data from crashes that occurred between 2020 and 2024. It’s important to note that both 2020 and 2021 saw impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed travel patterns and led to fewer travelers and fewer overall crashes.

During this period, there were 626 reported crashes with 94 people suffering serious injuries and 16 people losing their lives. This equates to an average of 22 fatal or serious injury crashes a year – with the overall number climbing – from 16 in 2020 up to 26 in 2024. Figure 2 shows the total number of fatal and serious injury crashes for all travel modes by year.

Figure 2. Total Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes by Year (2020 - 2024).

23 24

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Total Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes by Year

Figure 3 separates fatal and serious injury crashes by travel mode and shows how the number of crashes for each mode changes year to year. Bicyclists and pedestrians were involved in the most serious injury and fatal crashes each year except for 2021, when the number of fatal and serious injury crashes was highest for people in motor vehicles.

Figure 3. Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes by Year and Travel Mode (2020 - 2024).

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes by Year and Mode

Bicycle Motor Vehicle Motorcycle Pedestrian

WHO IS INVOLVED IN CRASHES?

Despite most trips being made by motor vehicle, there is a significantly higher rate of fatal and serious injury crashes for people walking and bicycling. To compare walking and bicycling safety with other modes, a fatal and serious injury (FSI) crash rate is calculated by dividing the number of FSI crashes by the total number of crashes.

• Pedestrian and bicycle crashes have an FSI rate of 33% and 14%, respectively.

• Motor vehicle crashes have an FSI rate of 12%.

In fact, two out of every three fatal or serious injury crashes involved a pedestrian or bicyclist. Of 626 injury crashes during the study period, 18% involved a person walking or bicycling. Of the subset of 110 fatal and serious injury crashes, 66% involved a person walking or bicycling.

Without the protective layers of a motor vehicle, people walking and biking are especially vulnerable. Figure 4 demonstrates that around 50% of motor vehicle crashes result in possible injury. However, for pedestrians and bicyclists, more than 75% of crashes result in a minor injury or worse.

Figure 4. Percentage of Crashes by Mode and Severity (2020 – 2024).

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Bicycle Motor Vehicle Motorcycle Pedestrian Truck

Percent Crashes by Mode and Severity

Fatal Serious Injury Minor Injury Possible Injury

Figure 5 shows crash victims by age group compared to their share of the city’s population.

Adults between the ages of 26 and 75 are generally overrepresented, while children, young adults and seniors are underrepresented. This may be due to differences in the amount of travel by age group.

Figure 5. Crash victims by age group compared to percentage of city’s population.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

0-4 5-12 13-18 19-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66-75 76-85 85+

Victims by Age Group

% Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes % All Injury Crashes % Population

Figure 6 shows the ages of fatal and serious injury crash victims by travel mode. Younger people aged 18-35 are more often involved in fatal and serious injury crashes as drivers and passengers. People aged 36 and older are more often involved in serious injury and fatal crashes as pedestrians and bicyclists.

Figure 6. Fatal and serious injury crash victims by their age and role (2020-2024).

0-4 5-12 13-18 19-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66-75 76-85 85+

Fatal and Serious Injury Victims by Age and Role

Bicyclist Driver Passenger Pedestrian

WHEN ARE CRASHES OCCURRING?

Despite higher travel volumes during the day, many fatal and serious injury crashes occur at night. Although these crashes can have varying contributing factors, such as speed or impairment, 45% of all fatal and serious injury crashes occur during dark conditions, as seen in Figure 7. This finding is amplified for pedestrians, with 60% of pedestrian-involved fatal and serious injury crashes occurring in dark conditions, as seen in Figure 8.

Figure 7. Total Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes by Lighting Condition (2020 - 2024).

Daylight 55%

Dusk 2%

Dark/Street Lights 40%

Dark/No Street Lights

3%

Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes by Lighting Conditions

Figure 8. Pedestrian-involved fatal and serious injury crashes by lighting conditions (2020 – 2024).

Daylight 40%

Dusk 3%

Dark/Street Lights 54%

Dark/No Street Lights

3%

Pedestrian Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes by Lighting Conditions

WHAT IS CONTRIBUTING TO CRASHES?

When preparing a crash report, law enforcement personnel are required to identify a primary contributing factor. This is based on an on-scene assessment of the conditions, including photographs and videos, vehicle skid marks, and victim or witness interviews.

In Santa Cruz, the top contributing factors for fatal and serious injury crashes were unsafe speed (17%), pedestrian violation (17%), and driver and bicyclist under the influence of alcohol or drugs (14%). Figure 9 shows the percent of crashes by primary contributing factor for all injury crashes and fatal and serious injury crashes.

Figure 9. Percent of Crashes for all Travel Modes by Primary Contributing Factor.

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%

Unsafe Speed

Improper Turning

Other

Automobile Right of Way

D/B U.I. Alcohol or Drug

Traffic Signals and Signs

Pedestrian Violation

Pedestrian Right of Way

Wrong Side of Road

Following Too Closely

Improper Passing

Unsafe Starting or Backing

Unsafe Lane Change

Percent Crashes by Primary Contributing Factor

Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes All Injury Crashes, Including Fatal

Primary Contributing Factors A primary contributing factor is the action or condition determined by the investigating officer to be the primary contributor to a crash based on available evidence. While these factors often describe road user behavior, they also help identify where engineering improvements can reduce conflicts, encourage safer behaviors, and lessen the severity of crashes. These contributing factors are revisited in the corridor-specific recommendations in Chapter 6.

• Unsafe Speed: A crash in which a driver or bicyclist is traveling too fast for roadway, traffic, or environmental conditions, regardless of whether the posted speed limit is exceeded.

• Improper Turning: A crash in which a driver or bicyclist makes an unsafe or illegal turning movement, such as improper left or right turns, wide turns, turning from the wrong lane, or turning without adequate clearance.

• Other: Crashes attributed to less common or unspecified factors that do not fall into the primary categories above, including miscellaneous driver actions, environmental factors, or conditions not otherwise classified.

• Automobile Right of Way: A crash in which a driver fails to yield the right of way to another motor vehicle, commonly occurring at intersections, during merging, or when entering or crossing a roadway.

• DUI (Driving Under the Influence) Driving or Bicycling: A crash in which a driver or bicyclist is impaired by drugs or alcohol, affecting judgment, reaction time, or vehicle control.

• Traffic Signs and Signals: A crash in which a road user does not obey traffic control devices, such as running a red light, stop sign, or disregarding other regulatory signs or signals.

• Pedestrian Violation: A crash in which a pedestrian crosses outside a crosswalk, against a signal, or unexpectedly enters the roadway.

• Pedestrian Right of Way: A crash in which a driver fails to yield to a pedestrian who has the legal right of way, such as a pedestrian in a marked or unmarked crosswalk or crossing with a walk signal.

Behaviors Contributing to Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes

Unsafe Speeds More than 17% of fatal and serious injury crashes in Santa Cruz had unsafe speed as the primary contributing factor of the crash. One of the foundational pieces of the Safe System Approach is accommodating human injury tolerance by reducing speeds and impact forces. The more drivers in motor vehicles that are traveling at high speeds in a transportation system, the higher the impact forces are and the amount of kinetic energy in the transportation system.

Figure 10 shows the difference that 10 mph makes in terms of a pedestrian surviving the impact forces of a motor vehicle, emphasizing the importance of reducing vehicle speeds to improve safety outcomes. By reducing kinetic energy within the transportation system, we reduce the likelihood that if a crash occurs it will result in deaths or serious injuries.

Figure 10. Percent change of survivability for pedestrians struck by a motor vehicle.

Pedestrian Violations Tied with unsafe speeds, more than 17% of all fatal and serious injury crashes in Santa Cruz had pedestrian violations as the primary contributing factor of the crash. Although this typically means that a pedestrian crossed outside a crosswalk, against a signal, or unexpectedly entered the roadway, this often points to an infrastructure deficiency, rather than a behavioral issue only.

Things like missing or obstructed sidewalks or curb ramps, long distances between marked crossings, and other deficiencies make it harder for pedestrians to travel safely.

Drug or Alcohol Impairment The rate of drug or alcohol impairment in all crashes in Santa Cruz is similar to the statewide average, around 12%. However, in Santa Cruz the alcohol-involved crashes are more likely to result in serious injuries and fatalities, 27% versus the statewide average of 25%.2

Impaired driving was a top contributing factor in fatal and serious motor vehicle (31%) and motorcycle (27%) crashes. Alcohol-involved crashes are primarily concentrated on a limited number of roadways near the Wharf and Downtown, as well as along the main corridors in and out of the city including Mission Street, Ocean Street, and Soquel Avenue.

2 Transportation Injury Mapping System. https://tims.berkeley.edu/tools/dui/ https://tims.berkeley.edu/tools/dui/

WHERE ARE CRASHES HAPPENING?

The project team evaluated the roadway network in Santa Cruz to understand where higher densities of fatal and serious injury crashes occurred and identified common roadway characteristics correlated with more severe crash outcomes. These analyses help the city identify locations for safety projects.

The analysis process resulted in the identification of the High Injury and High Risk Networks. The High Injury Network consists of locations on the roadway network that have a higher rate of fatal and serious injury crashes. The High Risk Network identifies locations in which crashes may not have occurred yet but exhibit the risk factors that increase the likelihood of a fatal or serious injury crash occurring in the future.

Combining the High Injury and High Risk Network provides the Priority Network, where reactive and proactive safety interventions have the most potential to save lives and prevent serious injuries. This network will be used to prioritize safety projects and guide data-driven policy changes, such as reduction in posted speeds.

HIGH INJURY NETWORK

To develop the High Injury Network (HIN), crashes from the last five years (2020-2024) were mapped onto the city’s roadway network. The project team used what is referred to as a “sliding window” analysis to score roadway segments based on the number and severity of crashes that occurred. This methodology involves assigning a weighted score to quarter mile segments of the roadway network based on the occurrence of fatal and serious injury crashes. After evaluating the prevalence of different scores across the network, a threshold is set to define the High Injury Network.3

To understand where different types of crashes occur, the project team performed several analyses: for all crash types, for only those that involved pedestrians or bicyclists, for alcohol-

3 The methodology used to develop the HIN for Santa Cruz meets the criteria for Safety Corridors established in the California MUTCD. See Table 2B-105(CA): Safety Corridor Definition Requirements, on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD) (California Department of Transportation 2023)

Additional maps and more detail on the methodology used to develop the High Injury and High Risk Networks can be found in the Analysis Appendix.

https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/safety-programs/documents/ca-mutcd/rev7/summary-of-changes-2014-camutcd-rev-7-a11y.pdf https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/safety-programs/documents/ca-mutcd/rev7/summary-of-changes-2014-camutcd-rev-7-a11y.pdf involved crashes, and for nighttime crashes. This provides an opportunity to connect crashes to roadway or environmental factors. For example, downtown has a higher number of pedestrian crashes, which may reflect its combination of many destinations, high level of activities, and a concentration of places that sell or serve alcohol.

Santa Cruz is similar to many cities in that a majority of fatal and serious injury crashes happen on a small percentage of the total roadway network. Santa Cruz’s High Injury Network constitutes 12% of city-owned roadway miles, but accounts for 74% of all fatal and serious injury crashes.

HIGH INJURY INTERSECTIONS

Intersections represent the critical connection points and the locations of greatest conflict between modes in a transportation system. Intersections can serve as a transition zone from a high-speed, high-volume road into a lower-speed, pedestrian-heavy area like downtown Santa Cruz. Intersections also bring all road users into a shared space – that includes people crossing the street, cars turning, or bicyclists traveling through an intersection. Intersections can be controlled by traffic signals, roundabouts, and stop signs, and they all have different forms of interaction and conflicts between modes.

To supplement the High Injury Network, all intersections were scored based on the number and severity of crashes that have occurred there in the past five years. This enabled the project team to identify a subset of High Injury Intersections (HII), shown in Figure 11. Like the HIN, HII were identified for all modes, pedestrians, bicyclists, alcohol-involved crashes, and nighttime crashes;

these maps can be seen in the Analysis Appendix.

Figure 11. High Injury Network (HIN) and Intersections for all travel modes.

HIGH RISK NETWORK

The High Injury Network and High Injury Intersections show where fatal and serious injury crashes have occurred the most in the last five years. Knowing these locations allows the city to reactively identify and implement specific safety treatments where there is the greatest need.

However, the process fails to identify locations that might have similar roadway characteristics, but between under-reporting, the limited timeframe of the analysis, or even chance, have not had a fatal and serious injury crash occur yet.

One principle of the Safe System Approach is proactively improving streets to prevent crashes before lives are lost or altered. Referencing crash data and national research, the project team identified a set of roadway and environmental characteristics aligned with higher frequencies of fatal and serious injury crashes. These characteristics include traffic volumes, posted speed limits, the number of travel lanes, demographic data, proximity to key destinations such as schools, and more (Table 2).

Table 2. Screening factors used to develop the high risk network.

Roadway Characteristics

Demographic Characteristics

Land Use and Transit Characteristics

Traffic Volume (AADT) Household Poverty Schools Speed Limit Zero Vehicles Households Public Parks Bicycle Facility People of Color Transit Stop or Station

Number of Lanes Population Density

Functional Classification Caltrans Equity Index

These factors were screened to identify unique combinations that are associated with the highest frequency and severity of crashes. The combinations were grouped into tiers representing the highest, high, medium, low, and lowest risk, and mapped to identify locations with these characteristics, whether or not crashes have happened. The highest and high risk tiers were used to create the High Risk Network (Figure 12). The combinations of factors on roadways included in the High Risk Network include:

• Highest Risk - Roadways with traffic volumes greater than 1,000 vehicles per day and more than two lanes.

• High Risk - Roadways with traffic volumes greater than 1,000 vehicles per day, fewer than two lanes, located in high population density areas, and with bike facilities present.

Figure 12. High Risk Network for all travel modes.

PRIORITY NETWORK

The Priority Network combines the reactive High Injury Network and Intersections and the proactive High Risk Network to identify a focused set of roadways for near-term safety interventions. Table 3 compares the percentages of city-owned roadway miles and fatal and serious crashes across the analyses. Changes to less than 10% of city-owned roadway miles have the potential to address more 50% of fatal and serious injury crashes.

Corridors on the Priority Network include: Mission Street, Laurel Street, Center Street, Front Street, Broadway, Ocean Street, and Soquel Avenue, with additional segments on River Street, Bay Street, Chestnut Avenue Water Street, River Street, East Cliff Drive and Seabright Avenue.

Mission Street, the name for CA-1 within city limits, is owned and maintained by Caltrans, not the City of Santa Cruz. The issue of roadway ownership is discussed further in Chapter 4.

Figure 13 displays the combined Priority Network along with roadway segments identified in the crash-based High Injury Network and risk-based High Risk Network.

Table 3. Priority Network as a percentages of city-owned roadway miles and FSI crashes.

% of Total City-Owned

Roadway Network (miles)

% of FSI Crashes

Priority Network (High Injury AND High Risk Network)

7% 55%

High Injury Network 12% 74%

High Risk Network 13% 61%

High Injury OR High Risk Network

18% 80%

Figure 13. Priority Network, composed of the Crash- and Risk- based analysis results.

CHAPTER 3

WHAT DO PEOPLE

SAY ABOUT ROAD

SAFETY IN SANTA

CRUZ?

Crash data is one part of the safety story – it provides quantitative data based on crash history and the existing conditions of the roadway network in Santa Cruz. However, qualitative data is another critical component of ensuring that there is a thorough understanding of the road safety landscape in Santa Cruz. Hearing firsthand experiences from Santa Cruz residents and other city stakeholders allows for key voices to be heard and data gaps to be filled.

SAFETY ACTION PLAN WORKING GROUP

To guide development of the SAP and ensure the recommendations address all elements of the Safe System Approach, the city convened a Safety Action Plan Working Group comprised of representatives from multiple city departments and partner groups, including:

• Caltrans District 5

• Ecology Action

• Public Health Division, Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency

• City of Santa Cruz o City Manager’s Office o Department of Public Works o Fire Department and EMS o Police Department o Office of Emergency Services

The Working Group met three times during the SAP development process.

• Safety Workshop, October 2025 – The first convening of the Working Group was a one-and-a-half-day workshop that served as both a training and capacity building opportunity and established a shared understanding of the internal safety culture in Santa Cruz. The workshop included training on the Safe System Approach and proactive safety measures, identified stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities in creating safer roadways, discussions about current safety practices in the city, and a walk audit along the Laurel Street corridor.

• Working Group Meeting, March 2026 – The Working Group reconvened in March 2026 to discuss analysis results, initial recommendations, and next steps. Working Group members reviewed and revised a draft list of strategies and actions that formed the basis for the recommendations in this plan.

• Working Group Meeting, July 2026 – At the final meeting, the Working Group received an introduction to the SAP, reviewed specific infrastructure recommendations, and committed to staffing the post-fatal crash Task Force and working together to embed the Safe System Approach in city operations.

Input from the Working Group helped identify existing constraints and future opportunities that informed the recommendations in this plan, including a key recommendation to continue meeting on a regular basis to collectively implement the plan.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

As mentioned in Chapter 1, both the Active Transportation Plan Update and the Safety Action Plan (ATP) share the goal of making travel safer for all road users. The ATP is focused on creating networks and supportive programming for people walking, biking, and rolling, and safety was a common topic of discussion with stakeholders and members of the public during the plan development process. Because safety featured so prominently, the project team decided to incorporate the feedback from the ATP process into the SAP, rather than launch a similar effort and risk engagement fatigue from residents.

Outreach and engagement for the Santa Cruz ATP Update took place across three phases beginning in early 2025 and wrapping up in early 2026. Feedback was consistent across all three phases, with safety being cited frequently by participants using the online map and at in-person events. Based on Technical Advisory Committee and city staff feedback, safety— measured by the number of serious and fatal crashes for bicyclists and pedestrians and Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress—was the most highly weighted factor in ATP project prioritization.

Other key themes from the ATP engagement include:

• Arterial roads like Mission Street, Ocean Street, Soquel Avenue, and Water Street were repeatedly mentioned as feeling unsafe for bicyclists and pedestrians due to driver speeds and lack of separation between vehicle travel lanes and bicycle lanes.

• Participants frequently expressed a desire for slowing vehicle speeds, including by lowering speed limits, deploying additional enforcement, and identifying specific areas near schools that needed traffic calming.

• Community members expressed concerns about the faster speeds and heavier weights of e-bikes and requested further education and resources for e-bike users and parents.

• Community members shared that more street lighting, especially around schools and along the Riverwalk, would make them feel safer walking and biking at night.

CHAPTER 4

ISSUES AND

OPPORTUNTIES

The list of issues and opportunities below is based on findings from the data analysis, Working Group discussions, and ATP engagement. They set the stage for the recommendations in the following chapters.

ISSUES

VULNERABLE ROAD USERS

Vulnerable road users include people walking, bicycling, using mobility devices and riding motorcycles, as well as youth and older adults who are physically less able to withstand crash forces. Two out of three fatal and serious injury crashes in Santa Cruz involve a pedestrian or bicyclist. There are also specific demographic groups that are disproportionately impacted by traffic violence. In Santa Cruz, the unhoused population faces a disproportionate impact from traffic violence. Members of this group are frequently walking and biking, and many homeless services are separated from downtown and other parts of the city by the intersection of Mission Street (CA-1) and River Street (CA-9), which is owned and maintained by Caltrans.

STATE-OWNED ROADWAYS

A common challenge in local Safety Action Plans is addressing safety on state-owned roadways, which often experience the highest rates of severe and fatal crashes but fall outside of local agencies' direct control.

In Santa Cruz, Mission Street (CA-1) is a state-owned roadway on the Priority Network. One in ten crashes that occurred in Santa Cruz between 2020 and 2024 occurred on Mission Street;

nearly half of these crashes (47%) involved a bicyclist or a pedestrian. About 20% of all crashes on Mission Street result in a serious injury or fatality, but the serious injury and fatality rate rises to 73% for bicyclists and pedestrians. The intersection of two state-owned highways, Mission Street (CA-1) and River Street (CA-9), scored the highest in the High Injury Intersections analysis.

Table 4. Crashes on Mission Street, 2020-2024, by mode and severity

Fatal Serious Injury Minor Injury Possible

Injury Total

Bicycle 0 3 13 2 18

Motorcycle 1 1 5 1 8

Motor Vehicle 0 2 14 10 26

Pedestrian 2 6 5 2 15

Truck 0 0 1 1 2

Total 3 12 38 16 69

Because of the crash history along Mission Street and this intersection, the Working Group felt strongly the city should continue to engage with Caltrans to address safety along the corridor.

Any design changes would need to be led and approved by Caltrans, and these changes would be directly aligned with Caltrans Directors Policies DP-36 and DP-37.

• DP-36: This policy directive commits Caltrans to a vision to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on California’s roadways by 2050 using a Safe Systems approach.

Neither the City of Santa Cruz nor the state of California will eliminate fatalities and serious injuries by 2050 without addressing the Mission Street (CA-1) and River Street (CA-9) intersection.

• DP-37: This project is aligned with Caltrans Directors Policy DP-37 that “all transportation projects funded or overseen by Caltrans will provide comfortable, convenient, and connected complete streets facilities for people walking, biking, and taking transit or passenger rail unless an exception is documented and approved.”

The policy further states, “Caltrans will maximize the use of design flexibility to provide context-sensitive solutions and networks for travelers of all ages and abilities.”

For the intersection of two highways, grade-separation for pedestrians is one context-sensitive solution that should be considered.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE CONSTRAINTS

The wide-ranging conversation at the first Working Group meeting touched on several challenges facing emergency response in Santa Cruz. One issue is staffing; the police department is currently operating with a minimum number of officers and has very limited capacity to take on additional duties. The fire department has more staff, but not enough to fully staff all their fire engines and utilize smaller medical response vehicles, so engines are dispatched to respond to all calls.

Another challenge is navigating city streets, especially during peak commute times and summer tourism season. There are not many multilane streets in Santa Cruz, there are limited routes across the city due to the San Lorenzo River, and vertical separation between travel lanes and bicycle facilities discourages many drivers from pulling to the curb, even in an emergency.

A third challenge is there is no trauma center in Santa Cruz County. The closest Level 1 trauma center, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, is approximately 30 miles away “over the hill” in San Jose, and there are limited landing zones within the city for medical helicopter evacuations. This distance increases response times for people in critical condition, increasing the chances they may succumb to their injuries.

ALCOHOL-INVOLVED CRASHES

The number of alcohol establishments per square mile in Santa Cruz County is more than three times higher than other suburban counties (1.61 vs. 0.46).4 This isn’t surprising for a college town and popular summer tourism destination, but it means alcohol is readily available and creates an ongoing challenge for DUI prevention efforts. Campaigns need to be repeated annually to address the high turnover in the population but are often funded through grant programs with limited timeframes. The Working Group also discussed the expense and perceived inconvenience of using transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft to get home after drinking, especially for visitors coming from outside of the city.

4 Alcohol Outlet Density in California, 2023. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Public Health, March 2025.

OPPORTUNITIES

STATE ENABLING LEGISLATION

California Assembly Bill 43 (AB 43), passed in 2021, allows local cities and counties more flexibility to lower speed limits. Some of the changes under this law include allowing local jurisdictions to:

• Establish 15 mph school zone speed limits on certain roadways adjacent to school grounds;

• Designate Business Activity Districts with 20 or 25 mph speed limits in commercial areas such as downtowns and neighborhood business corridors if the land use and roadway meet certain conditions;

• Lower speed limits by 5 mph on road segments with high concentrations of bicyclists and pedestrians or serious injury and fatality crashes. 5

COLLABORATION

The discussions at the Safety Workshop revealed many existing forms of collaboration across City agencies and departments, as well as opportunities to formalize and strengthen collaboration moving forward. For example, additional roadway lighting has the potential to reduce nighttime crashes and property crime. While the Police and Fire Departments are the first responders to collisions, often Public Works has the ability to address patterns of collisions by changing the infrastructure. This group identified a need to meet collaboratively soon after any fatal collisions to review if any roadway changes could be made that would address the collision factors. These existing relationships provide a solid framework for demonstrating a shared responsibility for roadway safety in the city.

5 California Safe Speeds Toolkit. https://safetrec.berkeley.edu/tools/california-safe-speeds-toolkit/california-safe-speeds-toolkit-current-speed-limit-setting-law https://safetrec.berkeley.edu/tools/california-safe-speeds-toolkit/california-safe-speeds-toolkit-current-speed-limit-setting-law https://safetrec.berkeley.edu/tools/california-safe-speeds-toolkit/california-safe-speeds-toolkit-current-speed-limit-setting-law

CHAPTER 5

SAFE SYSTEM

RECOMMENDATIONS

While changes to the built environment, such as the implementation of safety countermeasures on the roadways, are part of the recommendations of this plan and described in Chapter 6, there are additional actions needed to create a Safe System. These include changes to internal operations, identifying sustainable funding sources to implement recommendations over time, and educational campaigns to establish a citywide safety culture.

The following pages describe the recommended strategies, supporting actions, and key partners to help the city meet its goal of eliminating serious and fatal crashes on its roadways. The strategies are grouped into four categories, and each strategy aligns with one or more elements of the Safe System Approach. The timeframes for each strategy are as follows:

• Ongoing: starting or continuing with the adoption of the Safety Action Plan.

• Short term: within the next 1-3 years.

• Medium term: within the next 4-6 years.

• Long term: beyond the next 7 years.

Figure 14. Safe System Approach graphic.

POLICY AND PROGRAMS

Strategies focused on institutionalizing safety through policy, governance, and accountability.

Strategy Supporting Actions Safe System Element

Departments Timeframe

Establish a Road Safety Task Force

Conduct rapid reviews of fatal and serious crashes within two weeks and meet quarterly to track SAP implementation progress.

All City Manager, Fire/EMS, Police, Public Works

Short term

Report on progress towards Vision Zero every other year

Track progress toward Safety Action Plan goals.

Report to Transportation and Public Works Commission.

All Public Works Short term

Assess safe system impacts in staff reports

For all City Council and Transportation and Public Works Commission staff reports, add a section explaining how the agenda item impacts safe systems/Vision Zero to socialize the safe systems approach.

All Public Works Ongoing

Evaluate roadway projects before and after implementation

Measure safety and operational outcomes. Safer Roads Public Works Ongoing

Revise development review protocols

Require roadway safety measures in development review.

Safer Roads City Council, Community Development, Public Works

Medium term

Advocate at the state level for automated enforcement

Support speed and red-light enforcement tools. Safer Speeds

City Council, City Manager

Short term

Strategy Supporting Actions Safe System Element

Departments Timeframe

Municipal fleet safety Add vehicle safety technologies and driver training.

Safer Vehicles

Procurement, Public Works

Medium term

Municipal fleet safety Require side underrun guards on large city vehicles to prevent people walking, biking, or driving motorcycles from falling between wheels of a large vehicle during a crash.

Safer Vehicles

Procurement, Public Works

Medium term

CRASH EMPHASIS AREAS

Strategies focused on reducing fatal and serious injury crashes through roadway design, operational changes, and targeted interventions.

Emphasis Area Strategies & Actions Safe System Element

Departments Timeframe

Impaired driving Identify sustainable funding for ongoing DUI prevention programs.

Safer Road Users

Public Health, Police Short term

Partner with alcohol-serving establishments to provide safe ride options.

Safer Road Users

Police, Local Businesses, Public Health

Medium term

Advocate for stronger impaired driving penalties, such as license suspensions.

Safer Road Users

DMV, Police, Public Works, City Council

Short term

Vulnerable road users Implement Active Transportation Plan projects on high-collision corridors.

Safer Roads Public Works Long term

Conduct outreach to unhoused populations on pedestrian safety.

Safer Road Users

Homelessness Response, Public Works

Short term

Nighttime crashes Conduct corridor lighting studies on the HIN and implement recommendations.

Safer Roads Public Works Short term

Emergency response constraints

Collaborate with the Fire Department on traffic calming toolkit and implementation of traffic calming features.

Post-Crash Care, Safer Roads

Public Works, Fire/EMS, Police

Ongoing

Identify new emergency access routes to Harvey West.

Post-Crash Care

Public Works, Fire/EMS

FUNDING

Strategies focused on securing and prioritizing resources for ongoing implementation.

Funding Strategy Supporting Actions Safe System Element

Departments Timeframe

Identify additional funding opportunities

Pursue local, state, and federal grants to implement safety projects.

All City Council, Fire/EMS, Police, Public Health, Public Works

Ongoing

Prioritize safety criteria in budgeting decisions

Incorporate safety into capital and operating budget decisions. Add section on safe system impacts to staff reports.

All City Council, Public Works

Short term

Increase EMS funding Advocate for expanded trauma care resources and staffing.

Post-Crash Care

City Council, Fire/EMS

Short term

Fund smaller emergency response vehicles and staffing

Improve ability to respond to medical emergencies with tailored equipment.

Post-Crash Care, Safer Roads

Fire/EMS, Police, Procurement

EDUCATION AND AWARENESS

Strategies focused on building a culture of shared responsibility and safe behavior.

Education Strategy Supporting Actions Safe System Element

Departments Timeframe

Develop communications training on roadway safety

Improve how crashes and safety issues are discussed publicly.

All Public Works, Communications Partners

Short term

Launch “Move Over for Emergency Vehicles” campaign

Incorporate into driver education and media campaigns.

Safer Road Users

Public Works, Fire/EMS, Police

Short term

Launch “20 is Plenty” campaign

Evaluate roadways for speed limit reduction.

Build public support for lower speeds.

Safer Road Users, Safer Speeds

Public Works Medium term

Build partnerships with e-bike vendors

Distribute rules-of-the-road and safety materials at point-of-sale.

Safer Road Users

Public Works, Local Businesses

Ongoing

CHAPTER 6

SAFER ROADS

RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter outlines the physical infrastructure recommendations that support Safer Roads, one of the core elements of the Safe System Approach.