Mary Murigi hugs a new traffic signal at 58th Street and Fruitridge Road – the intersection where her daughter Michelle Murigi, 16, was struck and killed by a car in January 2012. On Tuesday, the Sacramento City Council approved a $2.25 million project addressing road safety issues near seven schools, including at the intersection where Murigi was killed.
Manny Crisostomo
mcrisostomo@sacbee.com
The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday approved $2.25 million for road safety improvements near seven Sacramento schools.
Under the Vision Zero School Safety Project, crews will make pedestrian and traffic safety improvements near Father Keith B. Kenny Elementary School, Natomas High School, St. Hope Public School PS7, Smythe Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Met Sacramento High School, West Campus High School and William Land Elementary School. The locations were selected for improvements following a study conducted at 20 schools that the City Council approved in 2021.
Improvements will vary by site and include new or upgraded crosswalks, curb ramps, traffic signs, pavement markings, bicycle-lane treatments, traffic-signal modifications and student loading areas.
City Councilmember Eric Guerra, whose southeastern district includes Tahoe Park, spoke about the project during the City Council meeting.
Guerra recalled Michelle Murigi, a 16-year-old West Campus High School student who was struck and killed in 2012 near Fruitridge Road and 58th Street in the Fruitridge Manor neighborhood, less than half a mile from her school. Following Murigi’s death, the city and Sacramento City Unified School District — aided by community activism — spent $400,000 to install traffic signals at the busy corner. But safety concerns remain, Guerra said.
“Even today, thinking about the loss of that student’s life, we have people who are not yielding at the intersections,” Guerra said. “This item, while it is small … provides a pedestrian island for kids to walk over not only to the high school but also Mark Twain Elementary.”
The city needs to do more “with the bit of federal dollars and city dollars we have,” specifically on traffic enforcement and road infrastructure, Guerra added. He also asked drivers to pay attention on the road.
The Vision Zero School Safety project is funded with $1.7 million in federal Community Project Funding and $550,000 from Sacramento’s Major Street Construction Fund. A construction contract of nearly $1.7 million was awarded to Pacific Excavation Inc., which submitted the lowest bid for the project in June.
The project falls under the city’s 2017 Vision Zero pledge to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2027. So far this year, at least 28 people have died on Sacramento streets.
Although the city says it remains committed to improving road safety, it has yet to change its funding structure, leaving the Department of Public Works reliant on competitive grants.
This story was originally published September 2, 2026 at 2:55 PM.
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Madison Smalstig covers transportation for The Sacramento Bee. Before joining The Bee, she reported on breaking news, focusing on crime and public safety, in the North Bay for three years. Smalstig is a born and raised Hoosier and earned degrees in journalism and Spanish at Indiana University.