The City of Napa is saddened by the tragic loss of life that occurred on Thursday, May 19th, in the Fuller Park area due to a traffic collision. In cases like this, it is important to allow our Police Department Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team the time and space they need to thoroughly investigate the incident. The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team is a group of highly trained professionals who go to extensive lengths to look at every aspect of an incident before making determinations related to fault and cause. These investigations take time to be done correctly so we ask the community for their patience until this work is completed. Additionally, the City of Napa is committed to continuing to address traffic safety issues in the City of Napa and ensuring that our pedestrians, cyclists and motorists can travel safely through our City.

Work is underway right now to create a data driven approach to prioritize projects, programs and implementation strategies to improve traffic safety. The Local Roadway Safety Plan is an important component to collect and analyze data to best allocate our resources and will also help the City meet requirements for eligibility for traffic safety funding grants. Feedback from the community has been collected online, with over 500 comments to date, and the plan will be completed this summer. This plan will also include a Vision Zero Policy Framework (defined as a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all).  The City will collaborate with Napa Valley Transportation Authority (NVTA) in the upcoming year to produce a complete Vision Zero Policy for the City of Napa.

In addition to the Local Roadway Safety Plan development, a number of other programs have either launched or been completed over the past year to address traffic safety issues in Napa. From signal upgrades on major corridors to Vine trail improvements to the proposal of a new red light camera program and many others, the Napa Police and Public Works Departments continue to prioritize traffic safety-related projects and bring new solutions to the City Council to consider. The City will be holding a series of traffic calming community workshops starting this summer as part of the efforts to update our traffic calming program. A full synopsis of the work the City of Napa is doing to address traffic safety in Napa can be viewed at www.cityofnapa.org/TrafficSafety. Please stay tuned to this page as well as the City’s social media channels, as new projects and initiatives will be added as work continues.

Collaboration with the community is an integral part of developing the Local Roadway Safety Plan, as well as addressing traffic safety as a whole. We appreciate our partners from our stakeholders’ group which includes representatives from Slow Down Napa, Public Works, Police Department, Fire Department, Napa Valley Transportation Authority, Napa County Bicycle Coalition, Napa Valley Unified School District, Napa Valley Vine Trail, Visit Napa Valley, Downtown Napa Association, Chamber of Commerce, as well as the many motorists who obey the traffic laws and drive safely every day. Our continued partnership with the community is key in improving traffic safety in Napa, which is of the utmost importance to the City of Napa.