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Response to Mayor’s Budget: Support Vision Zero Progress, And Demand Full Funding for Citywide Speed Management Plan

  

Bird Rock Community Responds to Mayor’s Budget: Support Vision Zero Progress, And Demand Full Funding for Citywide Speed Management Plan 

SAN DIEGO — Following the release of Mayor Todd Gloria’s FY 2027 budget proposal today, Respect Bird Rock — a community safety advocacy group representing the La Jolla Bird Rock neighborhood — issued the following statement in response. 

We are encouraged by the Mayor’s continued commitment to transportation safety, including funding for the “Fatal 15” high-crash intersections and the City’s broader Vision Zero goals. These investments save lives and align with the Comprehensive Speed Management Plan approved unanimously by the City Council in March 2026. 

The Citywide Speed Management Plan — which would lower speed limits on over 679 miles of San Diego streets, including dangerous corridors like La Jolla Boulevard and Torrey Pines Road — requires a modest investment for new signage, poles, and installation. The final budget must commit these funds. 

Without this investment, the plan cannot move forward. School zones, business districts, and high-injury corridors will remain dangerously fast. Families walking to Bird Rock Elementary, seniors crossing at Tourmaline Beach, and cyclists on our coastal routes will continue to face preventable risks. 

Lowering speed limits is one of the most cost-effective life-saving tools available. The price tag is small compared to the human and financial costs of traffic violence: emergency response, lifelong medical care, lawsuits, and lost lives. 

We join Vision Zero advocates in calling on the Mayor and City Council to:

● Fully fund the Citywide Speed Management Plan in the final FY 2027 budget ● Restore the Multimodal Program (as Circulate SD has urged) so that speed reductions are paired with street design improvements 

● Prioritize implementation in school zones and District 1 corridors identified by local residents 

The City Council unanimously supported this plan. Now the budget must follow. 

Quote from Respect Bird Rock: 

“We’ve seen what lower speeds and safer street design can do — in Bird Rock, business revenue rose 20–30% after traffic calming was installed. But that success started with political will and a modest investment. We urge the Mayor and Council President LaCava: put the money in the budget. Don’t let this life-saving plan die from underfunding.” 

Next steps: The City Council will hold public budget hearings starting May 4. Respect Bird Rock urges all San Diegans who care about safe streets to speak up. 

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