On Tuesday, Sacramento city leaders will consider approving more than $1 million to fix a stretch of Marysville Boulevard that runs between North Avenue and Arcade Boulevard.<\/p>\n
It’s a roadway that’s seen more than a dozen serious crashes in the last decade, including a fatal hit-and-run last November.<\/p>\n
Marysville Boulevard is considered one of Sacramento’s most dangerous streets.<\/p>\n
“When it comes to this boulevard, people just fly like a racetrack,” said Paul McBean, who works along Marysville Boulevard.<\/p>\n
McBean’s friend was killed while walking along the road in 2017.<\/p>\n
“He was crossing, they didn’t stop, killed him right here,” he said. “His name was Ron. Ron Brown died right there.”<\/p>\n
Brown, 62, was one of 19 people killed or seriously injured by cars along the boulevard over a nine-year period. Now, Marysville Boulevard is at the top of Sacramento’s traffic safety to-do list.<\/p>\n
“What we want to do is recognize that this is a public health issue and we want to move quickly,” said Jennifer Donlon Wyant, the City of Sacramento’s mobility manager.<\/p>\n
The city is launching what it calls “quick build” roadway improvements that don’t take years of planning or cost millions of dollars to implement.<\/p>\n
“Marysville is the first,” Donlon Wyant said. “It’s our first time doing it. We’re figuring it out. We’re learning as we go.”<\/p>\n
The traffic safety changes include adding stoplights, sidewalk improvements, high-visibility crosswalks, and widening bike lanes.<\/p>\n
A “roadway diet” will also be added, which will change the four-lane roadway into just one lane in each direction to slow down drivers.<\/p>\n
Many people who live and work along Marysville Boulevard have been asking for these improvements for years.<\/p>\n
“We’re excited to be the recipient of this new quick-build program,” said Melissa Harris, the city’s active transportation commissioner.<\/p>\n
City traffic engineers say the high-traffic stretch needs about $18 million in changes to totally meet safety goals. This quick-build program will cost about $1.5 million and cover a three-block stretch.<\/p>\n
“We’ll see how this works, and we hopefully can apply this program to other key corridors that we’re working on,” Donlon Wyant said.<\/p>\n
Congressman Ami Bera announced on Monday that he’s allocating $2 million in federal funding toward future traffic safety projects along Marysville Boulevard.<\/p>\n
Construction on the quick-build improvements is scheduled to start later this year.<\/p>\n