Fix Our Streets
Vision
Our streets are our circulatory system, connecting us to work, school, and each other. Their condition is not just about potholes; it’s a direct measure of public safety and civic responsibility. Let’s implement a proactive, data-driven strategy that prioritizes fixing what we have to make it safe, ensuring every dollar spent prevents accidents, protects residents, and preserves our infrastructure for the long term.
Policy
- Adopt a “Fix-It-First” maintenance strategy to repair deteriorating streets before they become hazardous and far more expensive to rebuild.
- Use crash, pavement, and traffic data to prioritize repairs on high-risk corridors, targeting potholes, uneven surfaces, and faded striping that endanger all users.
- Integrate critical safety upgrades into every repaving project, including high-visibility crosswalks, ADA-compliant ramps, and improved lighting.
- Deploy proven, cost-effective traffic calming like rumble strips, visual narrowing, and rapid-flash beacons—to slow traffic and protect neighborhoods without impeding emergency response.
- Ensure every repair strengthens the street for everyone: drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, seniors, and families.
Why This Matters
For too many Sacramento residents, “fixing our streets” has meant a reactive, patchwork response to complaints. This approach is both inefficient and dangerous. It allows small problems to become safety hazards and major capital projects, wasting taxpayer money and failing to address the root cause of risk.
The true cost of neglected streets is measured in bent rims, but also in emergency room visits and preventable tragedies. A faded crosswalk or a missing curb ramp isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a barrier for a senior or a parent with a stroller, and an invisible hazard for a driver on a rainy night. By pairing urgent maintenance with targeted safety upgrades, we stop managing decline and start building inherently safer corridors.
This strategy is fundamentally pragmatic and fair. It uses objective data to direct resources where the need is greatest, ensuring equity across neighborhoods. It recognizes that a well-maintained street with clear markings and safe crossings is the foundation of a livable community where kids can walk to school, businesses can thrive, and families feel secure.
Fixing our streets the right way is a down payment on Sacramento’s future. It demonstrates competent, fiscally responsible governance that values safety over shortcuts and invests in the basic infrastructure that binds our city together. Let’s build streets that are not just smooth to drive on, but safe for every person who uses them.