Sacramento to spend $1 million on Marysville Boulevard safety fixes

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.

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.

Marysville Boulevard is considered one of Sacramento's most dangerous streets.

"When it comes to this boulevard, people just fly like a racetrack," said Paul McBean, who works along Marysville Boulevard.

McBean's friend was killed while walking along the road in 2017.

"He was crossing, they didn't stop, killed him right here," he said. "His name was Ron. Ron Brown died right there."

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.

"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.

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.

"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."

The traffic safety changes include adding stoplights, sidewalk improvements, high-visibility crosswalks, and widening bike lanes.

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.

Many people who live and work along Marysville Boulevard have been asking for these improvements for years.

"We're excited to be the recipient of this new quick-build program," said Melissa Harris, the city's active transportation commissioner.

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.

"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.

Congressman Ami Bera announced on Monday that he's allocating $2 million in federal funding toward future traffic safety projects along Marysville Boulevard.

Construction on the quick-build improvements is scheduled to start later this year.