Popular speed bump program will make 20 Sacramento County neighborhood roads safer
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved new speed bumps Tuesday that had faced minor opposition from residents on two streets — the only two of a slate of 20 speed-reduction projects that did not have near-total neighborhood approval.
These two slightly controversial projects in Arden Arcade and in the Rio Linda area received a supermajority of approval votes from residents, but less than the 75% majority that allows such projects to skip board approval. All 18 other projects in this Neighborhood Traffic Management Program’s funding cycle received 75% approval or more, with at least 50% of residents in the area participating. The program is mostly focused on installing speed bumps, tables or humps.
In May, the board approved funding for this cycle of the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program. The program is part of a nearly 20-year effort to make residential areas in the county safer. In addition to putting in speed bumps, the Department of Transportation may work with residents to consider narrowing a street, which tends to slow drivers down, or adding roundabouts and raised crosswalks, both of which force drivers to slow. Some interventions, such as a speed radar board, do not involve physical changes to the road itself.
On Tuesday, the board considered the only two funded interventions that garnered any significant opposition: a plan to add one speed bump to El Ricon Way between Los Molinos Way and La Sierra Drive in Arden Arcade, and a plan to add three speed tables on U Street as it turns into 24th Street by the Cherry Island Soccer Complex in Rio Linda.
For the El Ricon project, the county heard back from 62% of the 29 directly affected households: 72% of them supported the speed bump. For the U Street project, the county heard back from 63% of the 41 affected households: 69% of them supported the speed tables.
Speed bumps can prevent dangerous car crashes
UC Berkeley’s Transportation Injury Mapping System shows that a two-vehicle crash on El Ricon Way severely injured two people in 2021 just west of the new speed bump location. Severe and fatal vehicle crashes have increased nationwide in recent years, though most are preventable with changes to infrastructure. Higher speeds are more likely to kill or maim people, especially in crashes that involve pedestrians or cyclists.
At the meeting, Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez, who represents the county’s northern tier from Elverta to Folsom, made an observation that was reflected in the sky-high support rate of all the speed reduction projects. Across the county, she said, “Most residents want a speed bump.”
The Neighborhood Traffic Management Program projects are all resident-driven, said Lupe Rodriguez of the county’s Department of Transportation. Usually, complaints from neighbors in unincorporated areas come through 311. They’re directed to the agency that oversees and maintains the county’s roadways.
Outside the neighborhood program streets, dangerous conditions persist on many county roads. Last June, 18-year-old Shawn Jordan died after being struck on a North Highlands viaduct while walking in a long section with no sidewalk. The viaduct, built in the 1960s, has had inadequate pedestrian infrastructure for decades.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office has publicly logged two dozen motor vehicle deaths in the county this year, most of which occurred outside the city of Sacramento. In 2024, the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metropolitan area was ranked the 20th-most-deadly place for pedestrians in the United States.
