Santa Cruz County is one of the most dangerous places in the state to walk, according to a new report from the 2025- 2026 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury published last week.
The report, titled ‘Walking in Santa Cruz County is Not for the Faint of Heart,” listed a total of 678 recorded pedestrians killed or seriously injured in the county between 2017 and 2023. Additionally, it lists 199 pedestrians killed or seriously injured in the City of Watsonville and 218 in the City of Santa Cruz.
According to the report, the county ranks in the top 20% of worst-performing California counties for the number of pedestrians killed or seriously injured (KSI) in traffic collisions.
“While the County and its cities have adopted modern transportation policies and safety frameworks, pedestrian safety outcomes remain poor relative to other California counties,” reads the report.
There is a lack of safety infrastructure for pedestrians, agreed Paula Bradley, a retired city planner and a representative for the City of Capitola on the SCCRTC Bicycle Advisory Committee, and, in her experience, one of the fundamental problems is that “there’s a limited amount of money they have to do repairs,” Bradley said.
According to this report, the Jury investigated the cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz and the unincorporated areas, which have a persistently high number of pedestrians killed or seriously injured and has communicated a goal of implementing a Vision Zero strategy—a multidisciplinary approach to traffic fatalities and severe injuries. The cities of Scotts Valley and Capitola were not included in the report.
“Personally, it’d be nice to see less of a car-centric approach when it comes to designing throughways and streets,” said Adi Biacs, a 25-year-old bike mechanic.
“Drivers and cars are just like not really paying attention, even to the people walking around,” added Biacs.
The Jury statement reports that since the county and cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz have yet to implement a Vision Zero strategy, “possibly resulting in more pedestrian deaths and serious injuries than would have otherwise occurred.”
The safety report identifies a lack of sidewalk and crosswalk maintenance, the prioritization of speeding enforcement over enforcement of driving under the influence, as among the concerns and causes of dangerous pedestrian conditions.
“I think it signals that there’s a lot of work to be done,” said Ryan Coonerty, who is running for mayor of Santa Cruz. “There’s an obligation that the city has to put in traffic calming, safe routes to schools, and other initiatives, and we also, as a community, just need to do a better job about being more cognizant when we’re driving.”
He added that he knows personally how deadly and devastating accidents can be after he lost his friend and colleague, Allison Endert, in an accident.
The report concludes with final recommendations to the County Board of Supervisors and the city councils of Watsonville and Santa Cruz to focus on enacting policies and conducting community outreach to create better response systems for sidewalk and pedestrian hazards.
The County Board of Supervisors and city councils of Watsonville and Santa Cruz were given 90 days to respond to the Jury report.
In a statement, the Regional Transportation Commission shared that “the RTC is committed to being a strong partner in the multiagency Community Traffic Safety Coalition as it works to develop Vision Zero action plans with real metrics and accountability.”
Residents had strong responses on Facebook:
“I absolutely believe it,” wrote Carl Bendix on the KSBW Facebook page. ‘Especially the downtown area. Clueless pedestrians, bicycle and e-bike traffic is scary. Far too many are not paying attention to anything but their phones. And they don’t seem to be concerned for their own safety, They leave that to everyone else. Even the drunk who doesn’t stop. The really scary ones appear at night wearing dark clothing, no lights on bicycles, and on the wrong side of the road.”
Added Jim Denton: “Pedestrians crossing streets looking at their phones combined with drivers looking at their phones can create the perfect storm. Everyone can see pedestrians looking at their phones while drivers keep them hidden from view. Everyone seems to be entitled to do whatever they want.”
Mike Parisi wrote: “This is one of the BIG reasons to support a wide, multi-lane (as in separate lanes for walking, bikes and e-bikes) continuous, county-wide trail …it will save lives!”
