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Florin Road May Get Safety Makeover For Pedestrians

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A busy Sacramento street may soon be getting a multimillion-dollar makeover.

Melissa Rodriguez knows just how dangerous Florin Road can be for people not commuting in cars.

"Four days ago, literally a car almost clipped me, and if I didn't veer out of the way, I would have gotten hit, and I would have gotten hit really hard. It was very scary. I went home shaking," she said.

Latisha Burns also had a close call.

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"A car was coming and it was zig-zagging more than it was supposed to be and it almost swiped the back of my tire," she said.

Many people say too many drivers are flooring it on Florin. Much of the six-lane road doesn't have designated bike lanes, and Walk Sacramento's executive director says that needs to change.

"When we don't have bike facilities, often bicyclists are encouraged to use sidewalks and that only further pits pedestrians and cyclists against each other," Kirin Kumar.

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Sacramento County says the street will soon be better. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is being asked to approve spending nearly $4 million to improve sidewalks and add bike lanes. The plan also calls for purchasing some of the property along the frontage of Florin Road to expand the corridor.

"It's so important to think about improving streets in communities like these where people rely so much on walking and biking," he said.

Better street lighting and access for the disabled are also among the planned improvements. Funding comes from highway safety grants and a countywide half-cent sales tax.

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