As traffic deaths continue to outpace homicides, San Jose city officials have rolled out the latest program to make the streets safer.
On Wednesday, the city announced the installation of red-light cameras at four of its most hazardous locations as part of a year-long program that elected leaders hope will help achieve their goal of reducing traffic-related fatalities.
With one of the city’s most dangerous streets in the backdrop, Mayor Matt Mahan recalled visiting with the family and attending the funeral of Esias Amaru Ramos-Berhane, an 11-year-old boy killed on his scooter last year in South San Jose.
“I promised them that it was with his memory that I would fight for safer streets for our city,” Mahan said. “Today, I am remembering Esias, (and) as you know, I believe that public safety is the most fundamental responsibility of our government. I’m devastated that this city wasn’t safe enough for Esias, but I hope that with the announcement today, this intersection and others like it will be safer for other San Jose children, children who simply want to hang out with their friends, ride their scooters and feel safe in their neighborhood.”
Traffic safety has become a priority in San Jose. Nearly a decade ago, San Jose became a Vision Zero city, establishing a goal to eliminate traffic fatalities. The city’s Vision Zero task force aimed to reduce fatal and severe injuries by 30% by 2030 and eliminate them by 2040.
Between 2020 and 2024, the city reported 273 traffic-related fatalities. This year, the city has recorded 26 deaths thus far, marking a 34% decrease from the same point last year.
“Behind our data points are real people: parents, children, friends, neighbors, grandparents, all whose lives were cut short,” Vice Mayor Pam Foley said. “But the next five years could be very different.”
The red light cameras will be deployed at the intersections of Leigh Avenue and Parkmoor Avenue, Monterey Road and Branham Lane, Keyes Street and S. Third Street, and South Bascom Avenue and Camden Avenue
District 2 Councilmember Pamela Campos welcomed the new technology, noting Monterey Road’s nickname as “Blood Alley.”
“This road accounts for 4% of the city’s deadly and serious injury crashes,” Campos said. “In the past five years, we have lost nearly 60 people to traffic violence and at the intersection of Monterey and Branham alone — one person was killed and another severely injured because somebody ran a red light.”
City officials highlighted the safety improvements that red-light cameras have made in other cities, citing Chicago’s reduction in injury crashes at intersections with cameras, which decreased by 39%, as well as a 56% decrease in “T-bone” crashes and a 52% decrease in overall crashes between 2005 and 2023.
District 2 resident Tuan Tu said that on his commute to Fremont, the introduction of red-light cameras had also made a noticeable difference.
“It got a lot better there and a lot of other intersections in that city,” Tu said. “Having some in San Jose is an improvement for us.”
The cameras will start with a 60-day warning period on Oct. 13. Drivers will not receive citations until Dec. 12 at the earliest.
The red-light camera pilot is not the only safety measure the city could implement, as San Jose could soon add 33 speed-safety cameras along priority corridors.
City officials had initially planned to roll out that program this year, but the project faces financial hurdles as a result of the Trump administration withholding grant money initially intended for the program.
“We are asking the Trump administration to depoliticize public safety and the grants for safer roads, for our police department, for our airport – the types of grants we need to keep our city moving forward,” Mahan said. “We are looking at alternative funding mechanisms that would not require federal funding.”