San Jose leaders approve lowering some speed limits

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — The San Jose City Council has unanimously voted to lower speed limits on more than 20 roadways in an effort to reduce traffic fatalities.

The decision is part of the city’s Vision Zero Plan, which aims to decrease the number of deaths and serious injuries on the roads. The council’s action targets 23 roadways identified as “priority safety zones” where major accidents frequently occur.

“These are our streets with the highest level of fatalities and severe crashes,” said Pam Foley, Vice Mayor of San Jose. “This is a wonderful day that we were able to approve these streets today and lower the speed limit to 35 miles per hour.”

The city’s transportation director reported that San Jose experienced nearly 50 deadly traffic accidents in 2024, with almost 10 of those attributed to speeding. By reducing speed limits by 5 miles per hour on roads with high fatality rates, city leaders hope to make a significant impact on road safety.

Most of the affected roads currently have speed limits ranging from 30 to 40 miles per hour. The new speed limits will be implemented with the installation of updated signs in September.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.