San Diego awarded federal ‘safe streets and roads for all’ grant

California Construction News staff writer

The City of San Diego will create a ‘quick build program’ to evaluate and identify quick build safety projects on the high-injury network in 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.

San Diego was selected by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) for a competitive discretionary grant designed to support regional, local, and Tribal initiatives through competitive grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries.

The $680,000 investment will be also be used to add a comprehensive speed management plan and slow streets program to evaluate and identify traffic-calming initiatives in neighborhoods with high pedestrian and bike activity.

Building on a successful pilot program in Pacific Beach that increased bicycle activity by 30%, funds will go to creating safe shared spaces allowing residents to get around their neighborhoods safely.

“I want to thank the Biden-Harris Administration and Secretary Buttigieg for investing in our City’s efforts to create safer streets for all San Diegans,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said. “This grant will help advance our vision ero 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.”