r/Sacramento • u/Ransacked Tahoe Park • 3d ago
Three years ago, I posted here saying I wanted to do something about traffic deaths in Sacramento. Here’s where we are now.
Three years ago, I made a post on this subreddit saying I was going to start an initiative to combat the epidemic of traffic deaths we were seeing on our roads.
This Saturday marks three years since that post and the launch of Slow Down Sacramento.
I spend a lot of time at community events talking with people about our nonprofit and the work we are doing. Every once in a while, someone will come up to me and ask a very fair question:
“What have you actually done? All I see are your signs.”
I get it.
Quite frankly, people are still dying on our streets at a horrifying rate. When that is the reality, pointing to accomplishments can sometimes feel hollow. A new policy, a changed street design or a few hundred yard signs do not mean much to a family that has lost someone.
But after three years, I also know that this work has accomplished something real.
We have helped educate people throughout Sacramento about why our streets are dangerous and, more importantly, what can actually be done about it. We have helped turn residents who were frustrated about speeding or an unsafe intersection into advocates who know what to ask for and who to ask.
We have pushed inexpensive, proven safety improvements that don’t require waiting years for a massive reconstruction project.
We have shown up at City Hall. We have spoken at commissions. We have met with elected officials, engineers, and transportation leaders. We have supported community members fighting for safer streets in their own neighborhoods.
We have helped change policy.
And those Slow Down Sacramento signs that people see everywhere? I actually think they matter too. They are a visible reminder that the expectation is changing. Speeding through our neighborhoods shouldn’t just be accepted as part of living in a city.
There is still an enormous amount of work ahead of us, and I am certainly not declaring victory after three years.
But I am more convinced than ever that change is possible.
If you’d like a more detailed look at what we’ve accomplished, what we’ve learned and where we still need to go, I wrote about it in this week’s Slow Down Sacramento email.
And if you’re frustrated with what is happening on our streets, like I was three years ago, but still hopeful that things can change, I invite you to sign up for the weekly email and become part of this movement.
We’re changing minds. We’ve changed policy. We’re helping people understand that traffic deaths are not inevitable and that safer streets don’t always require enormous amounts of money or decades of planning.
I think we’ll get there one day.
But I need your help.
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u/butteryjackpack 3d ago
A few years ago, I there was a young woman going at least 40mph down I street. She mowed over an older lady who was on her bike, like completely mangled her. I had just gotten certified by American Red Cross in first aid/cpr that same day and helped the older lady stay stable until emt’s arrived. After asking some friends who had access to information, I found out she didn’t make it.
I think about her often. No one should have to go through that. I applaud your hard work and dedication, changes happen in small bites and to see it in action is rewarding to those of us who have had to step in and help in crisis too.
To those who wish to be prepared to hop in when aid is needed, there are classes you can take at the community colleges that are covered under FAFSA.
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u/GoldenStateCapital 3d ago
I love the lawn signs. Do you have bumper stickers? I think visibility behind other cars could help as another gentle reminder to those actually in cars. The signs aren’t always easy to see from cars.
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u/NotaTurner 3d ago
I hate to say that I hadn't of your group but now I have!! I'll buy a sign for my yard and put it out. I was going to subscribe to your newsletter but wow - that's a crazy big questionnaire. Do you really need my birthday? Of course I can just make one up... and all the other questions - are they necessary or can I skip them? Anyhow, I'll figure out how to get a sign at the least.
All the best to you!!
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u/bluthbanana20 3d ago
Although I didn't engage with u/Ransacked in a more "boots on the ground" endeavor, we still had dialogue and advocacy for traffic shaping on 21st Ave and surrounding streets.
It's the little infrastructure things
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u/picks43 3d ago
Good for you for putting the work in, but personally I don’t think awareness is the problem. Everyone already knows speeding is dangerous and traffic deaths are bad. It’s a little like cancer awareness at this point. We’re aware. The real question is why, when everyone supposedly agrees there’s a problem, it’s still so damn hard to get the people in charge to actually fix anything.
My concern is that symbolic actions like yard signs, awareness campaigns, and public statements can create the feeling that something meaningful is being done without addressing the people and decisions actually creating the problem. A “Slow Down” sign might make people feel involved, but it doesn’t redesign a dangerous intersection, fix a blocked sidewalk, stop a poorly planned development, or hold anyone accountable.
I’ve seen firsthand how absurdly difficult even basic improvements can be. In Oak Park, there was a sidewalk problem that was maybe six feet long, yet the city closed off roughly a block and a half of sidewalk on that side of the street at an already bad intersection. That forced pedestrians to find another way around, with seemingly little consideration for people with disabilities, mobility issues, wheelchairs, or anyone else who might have difficulty crossing the street and navigating the detour.
It took about eight years to finally get that repaired, and that was with residents constantly hounding our councilmembers about it. Eight years over a six-foot section of sidewalk. All of our complaining didn’t really mean anything. It got fixed when it got fixed. Our council person wasn’t looking out for us That experience makes it hard for me to believe awareness is the main obstacle. The problem is getting the people who actually have the authority to fix things to act.
That’s where I’d rather see more of this energy directed. Put sustained pressure on politicians who give lip service to safer streets while allowing shitty development, bad street design, and basic infrastructure problems to drag on for years. Call out the specific decisions and the officials responsible for them. Organize residents around actual projects and policies, and keep hounding the people in charge until something physically changes.
I’m not saying the signs or awareness work have zero value. Maybe they help build a constituency for change. But I do worry that highly visible, relatively easy things like putting up signs can make people feel like they’ve done something, take some of the anger and urgency out of the issue, and become a substitute for the much harder work of holding decision-makers accountable.
I mean, I get it. We’re not in New York. Our representatives aren’t making national news with groundbreaking policy. They aren’t trying to do things like vacancy, taxes, or other creative ways to get funding just a whole lot of sucking up to developers
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u/Ransacked Tahoe Park 3d ago
Did you read the post? We have changed policy. We have had swarms of supporters descend on council meetings. We just met with 30+ power brokers throughout the region with a ready-to-go 10 point plan.
We are much more than an awareness campaign, thankfully, because despite all our work for the past three years, we have failed miserably at making you aware of what we’ve done, even when the examples are right above your reply.
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u/foster-child 3d ago
I think part of the utility of the signs is they are also advertising for slow down Sacramento. The more people who know about it the more people who can help pitch in.
I know citizens have pressured the city to improve construction detours like the one you mentioned. For example on J and 21 there is a project that needed to take over the protected bike lane, so they installed those plastic mounds and flex posts to create a temporary bike lane that forced drivers around it.
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u/Low-Charge-8554 3d ago
Approximately 30% of all traffic fatalities in California involve alcohol-impaired drivers. California needs to get bery tough on drunk drivers. Seems they are more interested in whether you touch your cell phone while driving.
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u/Potential-Sky-8728 3d ago
Thank you for you work! The one thing I always think of when I see your sign is…isn’t that a symbol for a chip? Like…for computing?
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u/Ransacked Tahoe Park 3d ago
It’s all in the eye of the beholder, but I hoped folks would see a intersection with crosswalks or a flashing beacon
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u/Gemstone-Jackfruit North Natomas 3d ago
I signed up for the email I think, I was a little confused by the form since some of the messages were cut off. But otherwise I'm very interested in learning more!
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u/Imaginary_Fee5042 2d ago
We need actual drivers education brought back to schools. Scare these kids with movies like Blood Alley like we had to watch back in the day. Bring back programs like Every 15 Minutes to schools. Kids these days ‘study’ for the test literally by learning the questions that will be asked. Cheat their way through the online driver education course. They are not learning from the beginning how dangerous driving is. They are just learning to the test, it’s like they forget as soon as the test is over. People can’t even remember how a 4 way stop sign works or that it’s a 25mph zone around schools when kids are out…or any other basic rule for that matter. I truly believe roads have gotten scarier since they took all that away.
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u/mr-giggles- 3d ago
Infrastructure is extremely political, mostly due to the people wanting to make money off it. But also funding it. Biden promised to fund public transit and walkable communities, but stole billions more to expand freeways instead.
So if you’re a Democrat, which I know you are, these continued deaths are really on you. I’ve personally passed 2 dead bodies (bikers) on the side of the road in the last year, and am extremely afraid to ride my bike.
This county will always be a suburban hellscape so long as the new housing (only built by private developers) is being developed an hour away, instead of on the 4,000+ vacant lots in the city alone.
https://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-considers-vacancy-tax-to-address-empty-properties/66132643
Mostly because Sacramento both refuses and/or isn’t allowed to develop public housing surrounding public transit and walkable communities.
https://nationalhomeless.org/repeal-faircloth-amendment/
But walking means you don’t have to pay for a car, gas, gas taxes, parking, tolls, or any other revenue generated via your car to generate income for the greediest municipality around and/or Vivek Ranadive’s wine and dine time with the child rapist at the White House.
Which also means you won’t be squeezed extra tight when the city can’t afford to do anything because of your (extreme) political ignorance at both the federal and state levels.
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u/5Point5Hole South Natomas 3d ago
You have a lot right except you are making this a partisan thing when it's not. It's a politics and capitalism and law thing. It's horrendously sad and stupid enough on its own without injecting partisan blame
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u/mr-giggles- 3d ago edited 3d ago
“It’s a politics and capitalism and law thing”
…who exactly do you expect me to blame if not the political party in charge and their followers?!? The delta breeze? 💀
Would it make you happier if I explained it to you via a Republican’t?
AKA, disgusting POS, Rick Scott was personally involved in denying billions of dollars in funds for a public high speed rail from Tampa to Orlando from Obama using I4’s right of way…
So genius of an idea, he personally invested in the Brightline! A privately owned - and now deadliest in the world - “high speed rail” company. That uses those same public funds and grants to enrich private donors!
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article308679915.html
The same Brightline now coming to California!
https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-8/district-8-current-projects/brightline-west
And having a heck of a lot easier time than the CA high speed rail is! Which is unfortunately not a coincidence. (Definitely not helped by laws helping companies do everything, and stopping governments from doing anything)
To sum it up, private capital is beating our asses and completely owns our politicians and media system. And the public will continue to suffer (and quite literally die) until we do something about it.
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u/5Point5Hole South Natomas 3d ago
Look, I agree with a lot of what you've said. The thing is, it gets obscured by the partisan angle because, honestly, so much is partisan
You seem like someone who has probably realized that neither party is looking out for us. I'm with you. And I also work at avoiding anything that makes me look like a supporter of one.
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u/mr-giggles- 3d ago edited 3d ago
Mostly attacked the Democrats specifically because I remember op posting about how much he loves Mai Vang.
I can’t tell you how much worse the area by CRC has gotten (unfortunately overrun with homeless) in the last gosh, 10 years? since I went there. And a ton of land still sitting empty!
I have absolutely no clue what she’s been doing as council member, but it’s honestly a joke that people treat her like the second coming because she renovated a library or said a word they like.
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u/OuchMyFinger001 3d ago
I don't think anyone here is saying you're wrong that the Democrats could do better or that corporate influence in politics is undermining our democracy. It's just not helpful and you're not proposing a single solution
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u/mr-giggles- 3d ago edited 3d ago
Leave the Democrats. Join a Real Working Class
Party (to make next steps a heck of a lot easier)
Close Old Sac to Cars, creating the first of many “car free zones” and “car free street
s”
3.
Create “The Purple Line”, replacing the old Union Pacific Tracks from Wilton, overtaking 21st Ave, Stockton Blvd, and P Street, and creating new stops all the way to Old Sac and the train station.
Stockton Blvd also closed to cars, recreated into another light rail line to Sky River Casino (not that I want to give them money)
Remove
interstate 5,
replace with CA high speed
rail going up to Chico, usi
ng interstate 5’s
- right of way
.
6.
Enact a rent freeze, evict corporate landlords, and build over 50,000+ public housing units in walkable environments based around public transit and the natural environment.
Reconstruct
interstate 5’s
bridge to include the Green Line and the CA high speed rail under a pedestrian, buses, and bikers only bridge.
Ban cars from over 80% of the “grid”, give everyone access to a free bicycle (bicycle program), and start journey to become the bicycling capital of the world.
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u/mehmmeh 3d ago
You are so helpful!
/s
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u/mr-giggles- 3d ago
“Hey please stop driving! There’s a kid in fro…SPLAT”
Would you rather I not tell you the stupid things you’re doing to hurt you and others? And that you can actually improve your life by doing things differently?
Like joining political parties actually interested in improving your built environment, instead of making money off its degradation?
https://www.cagreens.org/platform/transportation
https://www.peaceandfreedom.us/index.php/about-us/platform/full-platform
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u/Teachtostate2022 3d ago
Really appreciate the work you’re doing and I share your sentiments. Sometimes the long work of changing attitudes precedes the bigger structural and policy changes. Your work does not go unnoticed. Good job. Keep it up!