Cities Take Action: Lowering Speed Limits for Safer Streets

Eight roads in Oakland, California, will have their speed limits reduced by five miles per hour in an effort to improve traffic safety and reduce collisions. The speed limit reductions are part of Oakland's citywide Safe Oakland Streets (SOS) initiative, with the goal of eliminating severe and fatal crashes by 2042. The initiative focuses on neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by poor road infrastructure, where low-income Black, brown, and Asian communities, seniors, and persons with disabilities reside. While some business owners welcome the speed limit reductions, others express skepticism about their effectiveness and call for additional measures such as increased enforcement and physical road markings to ensure compliance.