Sonoma County Board of Supervisors adopts road safety action plans to reduce traffic collisions, roadway fatalities

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today signaled ongoing support for public investment in roadway safety by adopting the Sonoma County Local Road Safety Plan and, separately, adopting the Vision Zero Action Plan, which are intended to reduce roadway collisions and fatalities and improve public safety for all road users in Sonoma County.

The Local Road Safety Plan is designed to identify collision trouble spots and devise corrective measures that may reduce collision rates and improve road safety. Similarly, the Vision Zero Action Plan supports the county's efforts to provide safe and equitable modes of transportation with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries among all road users. Both plans align with the Healthy and Safe Communities pillar of Sonoma County’s Five-Year Strategic Plan. 

“Sonoma County remains resolute in improving transportation safety on local roadways, and these data-driven strategies put that into practice,” said James Gore, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “These plans are vital to ensuring ongoing investment in local roads and bridges, including substantial investment in new pedestrian and bicycle amenities that improve the safety of all road users in Sonoma County.”

The Local Road Safety Plan is based on data from collisions within Sonoma County during a five-year period between 2015 and 2019, including 5,542 reported collisions resulting in a total of 84 fatalities. That is an average of 1,108 collisions per year and 16 fatalities per year on Sonoma County roadways.

The Sonoma County Local Road Safety Plan was developed in 2020 through a collaborative process among local leaders representing the engineering, law enforcement, education, emergency services, and emerging technology communities. Examples of emerging technologies in roadway safety include Intelligent Transportation Systems, improved bicycle detection, upgraded traffic signal controllers, enhanced communication and data collection, and changeable message signs.

Beginning in 2022, a Local Road Safety Plan is required for state and local governments to be eligible to apply for funding through the Highway Safety Improvement Program, a federal-aid program that focuses on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on public roadways. Projects funded by the Highway Safety Improvement Program are identified based on crash severity, crash potential, crash rate, or other data-supported means. 

In 2019, the Sonoma County Transportation Authority launched a Vision Zero planning process in partnership with the Sonoma County Department of Health Services. The policy initiative, which was first implemented in Sweden in 1997, has the long-term goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and reducing severe injuries caused by traffic crashes. Sonoma County’s Vision Zero Action Plan includes the goals of building safe streets for all, eliminating impaired driving and creating a culture of safety on our roads.

The Sonoma County Local Road Safety Plan is available here:
https://scta.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Sonoma-County-Local-Road-Safety-Plan.pdf 

The Sonoma County Vision Zero Action Plan is available here:
https://scta.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Sonoma-Vision-Zero-Action-Plan_Final-1.pdf

The Sonoma County Vision Zero Data Dashboard is available here:
https://sonomacounty.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/50b37f3a9002463a82f79766e3155b35 

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Media Contact:
Dan Virkstis, Communication Specialist 
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org 
575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 565-3040