SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., December 16, 2025 –
The City of South San Francisco has been awarded a $150,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to support a multi-year effort to improve safety for students walking and biking near schools. The funding will be used to purchase and deploy temporary speed feedback signs in newly established 15-mph school zones, collect speed data, support community education, and supports South San Francisco’s broader Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths and severe injuries.
The project stems from findings in the City’s 2022 Local Road Safety Plan (City of South San Francisco, 2022), which identified a steady increase in severe crashes near schools. Injury crashes within ¼ mile of schools rose from 55 in 2021 to 88 in 2023, a 60% increase.
“With this grant, we can take meaningful steps to reduce vehicle speeds in school zones and make it safer for students walking and biking to school,” said Johnny Wilson, Senior Engineer. “Slowing down saves lives, especially the lives of our most vulnerable road users – children.”
Lower vehicle speeds dramatically reduce the likelihood and severity of injuries in a collision. According to research published in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention, reducing vehicle speeds from 25 mph to 15 mph can decrease the likelihood of a fatal injury by more than 60%, particularly for children under 15.
How the Grant Will Be Used
The OTS grant supports several key safety strategies, including:
- Purchasing and deploying temporary speed feedback signs in school areas. These devices alert drivers of their speed in real time and encourage safer driving behaviors.
- Collecting and analyzing speed data, including calibration against connected vehicle datasets, to evaluate how effectively speeds are reduced.
- Supporting Safe Routes to School efforts, school zone visibility improvements, and multilingual community outreach.
- Coordinating with Police, Public Works, and the School District to ensure placement aligns with crash data and community needs.
- Recommending Long-term solutions. If the data shows drivers respond positively to speed feedback signs, staff will recommend installing permanent signs at the most effective locations.
A Focus on Equity and Community Engagement
Many South San Francisco neighborhoods fall within regional Equity Priority Communities, and nearly 60% of residents speak a language other than English at home. The program includes multilingual outreach and collaboration with PTAs, Safe Routes to School partners, and community-based organizations to ensure all families benefit.
A Safer Future for Students
Speed feedback trailers will rotate among school zones every few weeks to cover all schools in the city. Engineers will monitor speed trends and adjust the program based on community feedback, crash reports, and speed data.
For more information about traffic safety programs in California, visit www.gosafelyca.org
Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
References
City of South San Francisco. (2022).
Local Road Safety Plan. South San Francisco: City of South San Francisco.
Tefft, C. B. (2013). Impact speed and a pedestrian's risk of severe injury or death. Accident; analysis and prevention, 50, 871–878.
The City of South San Francisco proudly remains The Industrial City, a reflection of its steel mill and ship building past, redefined to reflect the innovative, entrepreneurial, and industrious spirit which has made South San Francisco the Biotech Capital of the World, with 217 active biotech companies and growing. A vibrant community of 66,185 residents, South San Francisco enjoys a high quality of life with an extensive public parks system, active library and learning programming and a dynamic, engaged community making South San Francisco a great place to live, learn, work, and play.