City of San Jose Receives Major $12.9M Grant from Federal Government to Increase Safety Along Dangerous Corridors
Federal funds from the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program will go towards safety improvements to help San José meet Vision Zero goals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2023
Media Contact:
Tasha Dean, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Mayor Matt Mahan, [email protected]
SAN JOSÉ, CA - This morning, Mayor Matt Mahan was joined by Vision Zero Task Force Chair, Councilmember Pam Foley (D9) and Vice Chair, Councilmember Bien Doan (D7), transportation officials, and the mother of a traffic fatality victim to announce a $12.9 million federal grant awarded to the City for traffic safety improvements at four locations. The Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program, administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, announced earlier the same day that San José would be awarded the full amount requested.
“San José’s pedestrians and cyclists deserve to travel safely around our city,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan. “We’ve reduced traffic fatalities this year thanks to strategic investments in enforcement, education and improved infrastructure. This federal support will enable us to save more lives in the years ahead.”
The announcement was made as speakers gathered near the site of one of the four projects, along Curtner Avenue between Canoas Gardens and Highway 87. There, the City’s Department of Transportation is proposing a project with several safety elements. They will build a protected intersection that keeps bicyclists separated from vehicle traffic in their own physically separated lane. A raised, separated bikeway is also proposed along the north side of the street. Pedestrians will benefit from the added separation from vehicles, as well as from a new section of sidewalk that is currently missing. Traffic along the stretch will be better controlled with a pair of traffic signal modifications. Three people were killed along this stretch of Curtner Avenue between 2017 and 2021.
“In response to increasing traffic fatalities in San José and across the nation, we’re doubling down on our efforts to build transformative street safety projects,” said John Ristow, Director of Transportation. “The Safe Streets and Roads for All grant is an amazing opportunity to make significant improvements to some of our most troubling locations.”
City representatives were joined by Gina LaBlanc, a traffic safety advocate who lost her son, Kyle LaBlanc, in 2016, when he was killed by a driver as he walked along Curtner Avenue.
"I am very grateful to know that with this new grant, much-needed safety infrastructure can finally be built at this location," said Gina LaBlanc. "My son Kyle was not the only life lost here. My heart goes out to the other families who have lost loved ones and also those who have been injured. Like Kyle, all of these people matter. It is my sincere hope that with these new changes, pedestrians and cyclists will be able to get where they need to go without losing their lives or becoming seriously injured."
The other locations included in the grant award are:
Monterey Rd at Curtner-Tully Roads:
Project scope includes protected intersection, full signal modification, pedestrian time extension using pilot video detection and transit boarding island.
This project will make it safer for people walking, biking, and taking transit at one of the highest fatal and severe injury intersections in San José. There were seven fatal and severe injuries in five years, including three pedestrian fatalities in a span of a single year.
Capitol Expressway at Senter Road:
Project scope includes protected intersection and a full signal modification.
This project will make it safer for people walking and biking to cross one of the highest fatal and severe injury intersections (seven fatal and severe injuries in five years) in San José It is located near Andrew P. Hill High School and Rocketship Rising Stars Academy.
East Santa Clara Street at 11th Street:
Project scope includes a new pedestrian refuge island, sidewalk extension, new bulbout corner, signal modification, and raised bikeway.
This project will enhance safety for pedestrians and cyclists crossing at one of the highest fatal and severe injury intersections in downtown San José (two fatal and severe injuries in five years).
The projects will kick off in 2024. Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2027 and take approximately two years to complete.
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With nearly one million residents, San José is the largest city in the Bay Area and one of the nation's most diverse and creative. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center in the heart of Silicon Valley has resulted in the world's greatest concentration of technology talent and development.