This month, the San Luis Obispo City Council approved the 2026 Vision Zero Action Plan, aimed at helping the City reach its goal of reducing traffic-related injuries and deaths.
“It’s a large group blueprint that we will be implementing over the next several years to try to improve safety for everyone in the city,” said Luke Schwartz, the city’s Transportation Manager.
According to the City, 19 people died in traffic-related incidents in San Luis Obispo between 2020 and 2024, which is nearly three times the seven deaths recorded between 2015 and 2019.
The plan takes direct aim at the City’s High Injury Network, which is 11 streets where, according to city data, 80% of fatal and severe-injury collisions occur, despite making up only 11% of the city’s total road miles.
“So a very small number of streets are where most of the really severe crashes are happening, so the plan really hones in on what is happening on those streets, and what are some of the strategies we can explore to try to address those trends,” Schwartz said.
Madonna Road is one of those streets. Others include Broad Street, Foothill Boulevard, South Higuera Street, and Los Osos Valley Road.
The data points to speed as a major factor. According to the plan, 81% of fatal collisions happened on streets with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or higher.
“The main issues are, as you can probably guess, speed,” Schwartz said. “Unsafe, intoxicated, and distracted driving, particularly in the nighttime hours, but also unsafe failure to yield to people walking and biking at intersections is a big one too.”
Over the next several years, the city plans to focus on reducing speeds on high-risk corridors, improving traffic signals, and increasing crosswalk visibility, among other projects.
Schwartz says the City currently has approximately $375,000 available to begin putting some of those improvements in place.