The City recorded only two fatal traffic collisions through late May, down from eight during the same period in 2025, a police official told the Board of Transportation Commission on Tuesday.
Lt. Chad Chinchilla, RPD traffic bureau manager, said neither collision involved driver error. In one, the driver appears to have suffered a medical emergency. In the other, a pedestrian stepped off the sidewalk into traffic, and fault was attributed to the pedestrian.
"Obviously two is too many. We don't want to see that," Chinchilla said. "But to see that significant of a reduction so far this year is very good and promising, and we hope that it stays that way."
The figures come as the City prepares to implement a citywide speed limit reduction the City Council adopted in May. About 20% of speed limits citywide will drop 5 to 10 mph on corridors with high rates of speeding-related collisions, city Traffic Engineer Philip Nitollama told the commission. An additional 36 roadways that previously had no posted speed limits will receive them.
Nitollama said the City is working with its marketing team on a public awareness campaign, "Slow Down, Save Lives," to roll out alongside the new signage. Targeted police enforcement is also planned, with traffic data on the city's highest-violation corridors shared with the police services department.
The commission also unanimously approved directing staff to advance a road safety redesign on Linden Street in Ward 2. The proposal would convert the stretch of Linden between Chicago Avenue and Iowa Avenue from a four-lane road to two through lanes with a center two-way left-turn lane, expanded bike lanes and an improved loading zone near John W. North High School.
The segment has seen 36 collisions over the past five years, most attributed to improper turning, speeding and failure to yield. Reducing through lanes and adding a dedicated left-turn refuge lowers the number of conflict points where collisions can occur, Nitollama said. The road currently operates at Level of Service A, meaning traffic flows freely, and staff said it would remain so after the lane reduction.
The project is funded in part through the 2025-26 Community Development Block Grant for repaving. The City has been in contact with Riverside Unified School District and plans to continue community engagement before finalizing the design. The board directed staff to bring findings to the Mobility and Infrastructure Committee.
