San Diego identifies 14 high-crash streets and intersections for targeted safety upgrades across the city
City engineers flag 2024 collision hotspots for near-term fixes and longer-term capital projects
San Diego transportation officials have identified 14 road segments and intersections where crash patterns in 2024 met the city’s threshold for intensified review and potential safety upgrades. The locations were selected after traffic engineers evaluated intersections with five or more injury or fatal crashes and reviewed where pedestrian-involved collisions and injury crashes were most concentrated.
The city’s approach combines “quick-build” safety changes that can be installed by in-house crews with larger projects that may require design work, scheduling, and funding through the Capital Improvement Program. Officials said some upgrades are already underway on portions of Fairmount Avenue, Main Street, Mission Gorge Road, and Imperial Avenue, while other sites remain in the evaluation and project-development stage.
The 14 locations prioritized for evaluation and potential enhancements
- 15th Street at F Street
- 8th Avenue at Broadway
- Bayard Street at Grand Avenue
- 8th Avenue at University Avenue
- Kettner Boulevard at Sassafras Street
- 10th Avenue at A Street
- Otay Center Drive at Siempre Viva Road
- Garnet Avenue at Mission Bay Drive
- Fairmount Avenue (Montezuma Road to Talmadge Canyon Row)
- Imperial Avenue (53rd Street to Jacinto Drive)
- Main Street (I-5 off-ramp to Woden Street)
- Midway Drive (Kemper Street to Duke Street)
- Mission Gorge Road (Twain Avenue to Mission Gorge Place)
What types of changes are under consideration
Recommendations vary by location, but the city’s toolkit is focused on proven countermeasures aimed at reducing serious injuries, especially for people walking. Planned or proposed elements include upgraded signage, enhanced crosswalk visibility, and warning beacons intended to make pedestrian activity easier for drivers to detect.
Signal and timing improvements are also part of the plan, including upgrades to traffic signal hardware and the installation of pedestrian countdown timers where appropriate. In addition, speed-related measures may include replacing or adding speed limit signs and related traffic-calming treatments.
City officials said the intent is to move quickly where possible through in-house deployment while developing more complex projects through the capital program when funding and design work are required.
How this fits into the broader road-safety strategy
The new list builds on earlier annual “high crash” analyses that have identified smaller sets of locations for targeted fixes, reflecting a continuing, data-driven effort to direct limited safety resources toward places with recurring injury and fatal crashes. Separately, the city has also advanced policies aimed at reducing speeding in select commercial districts, with posted speed reductions planned for implementation beginning in summer 2025 in designated business activity areas.
For residents, the timeline and scope of changes will likely differ by site: some locations can receive near-term modifications, while others may depend on future funding, design, and construction scheduling.