'We Want To Save Lives': New Traffic Sensors May Come To 'Dangerous' Sacramento Streets

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – New sensors that can spot confused drivers may soon be coming to Sacramento streets as traffic safety data shows the city has some of the most dangerous streets in the state.

Jennifer Kingbird has seen plenty of traffic problems outside her store at the corner of El Camino Avenue and Del Paso Boulevard in North Sacramento.

"What I think I notice the most is people just aren't paying attention," she said.

Now the City of Sacramento has named that corridor one of the most dangerous streets in Sacramento. The one mile stretch of El Camino had 143 crashes in just a seven-year period.

"Speed is the biggest issue that's causing fatal and severe injury crashes," Sacramento Transportation Planner Leslie Mancebo said.

So where are the top five most dangerous streets in the city?

Along with El Camino Avenue, segments of Broadway, Stockton Boulevard, Florin Road and Marysville Boulevard round out the list.

"Really, these are very different corridors where we saw different types of crashes," Mancebo said.

Transportation planners have so-called "countermeasures" that could help make these streets safer. They include things like adding roundabouts and widening sidewalks.

"We see these as a way to counteract the cause of crashes that we see," Mancebo said.

They're also looking at adding new high tech tools.

"Dilemma zone detection is actually traffic signal technology that allows us to predict motorist behavior," Mancebo said.

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It changes the timing of yellow lights on the fly if it senses a driver having difficulty deciding if they should stop or proceed.

"We know that there's a lot of folks who run red lights out there, so we want to use our traffic signals as smart a possible," Mancebo said.

The work is part of the City's goal to eliminate all traffic deaths by the year 2027.

But how much could it cost? The price tag is an estimated $60 million to fix these top five corridors.

That's why the City is actively seeking federal and regional grants to help pay for the program.

"We want to save lives," Mancebo said.

The City says it could take up to ten years to see all of these ideas installed.