Over the last few years, the city of San Jose has had far too many traffic accidents. Too many of those traffic accidents resulted in a fatality. In 2022, 65 people died due to a traffic accident and 47 have died thus far in 2023. In order to finally combat this problem that is clouding the roadways in the city, the federal government gifted the city a multimillion-dollar grant to be designated for the use of road improvements. The grant comes in at around $12.9 million in federal loans. The money will be set to focus on alterations made to the deadliest intersections in the city.
One of the deadliest intersections in San Jose is Canoas Garden Ave. and Curtner Ave.
The mayor of San Jose, Matt Mahan, spoke on the awarded grant money in a statement. He acknowledged that there is much work to be done to improve people’s safety on the streets. With this said, he expressed his gratitude for the grant and the hope that it will greatly lead to more lives being saved.
Many San Jose families and friends know the pain that comes from the danger of some of the intersections. One couple, Gina and Steve LaBlanc lost their son, Kyle, when he was just a senior in high school. Kyle was riding his bike in the bike lane and was killed after a tow truck hit him. The LaBlancs returned to the site where Kyle was killed for the announcement ceremony of the grant.
The grant money will fund a few different improvement projects.
At the intersection of Canoas Garden Ave. and Curtner Ave, they will be changing the intersection to be protected, having a separate bike lane which will keep bikes fully separate from traffic. A new sidewalk will be constructed to fill in the gap that will exist between the road and the new bike lane. Furthermore, they will improve the traffic flow and signals, making them more legible and sensical.
The intersection of Canoas Garden Ave. and Curtner Ave is not the only one which will receive improvements. Each intersection subject to improvements will receive personalized updates based on the needs of the specific area and intersection.
