Salinas City Council bets on infrastructure to make roads safer for pedestrians.

In recent months the city of Salinas has seen an increase in pedestrian fatalities, including the death of a 3-year-old in July, after a driver ran a red light on East Alisal Street. Anecdotally, residents report more jaywalking, groups of kids riding bicycles dangerously and blocking traffic, cars blocking pedestrian crossings and more.

In response, the Salinas Police Department has increased efforts to improve safety on the roads and mitigate reckless behaviors. City officials are seeking community input on streetscape plans, hoping for improvement.

On Sept. 24, the city accepted two grants meant to improve traffic enforcement and education, and to reduce vehicular collisions and fatalities. Combined, Salinas received $268,831 from the California Office of Traffic Safety for 2025 projects. Ecology Action, a Santa Cruz-based nonprofit, will be in charge of providing training on bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Also in September, council adopted the 2024 Salinas Active Transportation Plan to update the current plans that were over 20 years old. It will bring the city up to code with California’s 2008 Complete Streets Act, which requires cities and counties to incorporate street plans that will serve all users – including pedestrians and cyclists.

Councilmember Anthony Rocha said it was important to adopt and implement bike infrastructure, otherwise it would impact quality of life into the future. “It has to come with the funding to maintain that bike infrastructure moving forward if we want this to be successful,” Rocha said.

Currently, Salinas has 95 miles of bikeway but there are significant gaps, leaving cyclists on high-speed roads with heavy traffic, which can be unsafe and challenging to ride on.

Main, Alisal and Market streets are on the top three for bicyclist and pedestrian collisions, according to the Active Transportation Plan. In surveys, many residents shared they didn’t feel safe on bike lanes and that sidewalks are narrow and in poor condition.

The goal of this plan is to identify community needs and focus on projects that improve connectivity and the safety and mobility experience for cyclists and pedestrians. It calls for an interconnected trail system across the city. The plan includes increasing protected bike lanes from 9.4 miles to 59.7 miles.

“If we want to encourage people to ride their bicycles, we need to maintain bike lanes safely.” Councilmember Tony Barrera said.