San Jose Tops New List Of Least Safe Cities For Silicon Cyclists

Credit: Craig Dennis on Pexels

Recent data from a San Francisco law firm suggests San Jose is one of the Bay Area’s worst cities in terms of cyclist safety.  

For this latest report, researchers at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly, and Schoenberger and the media group 1Point21 Interactive examined crash stats from California Highway Patrol. Analysts focused on accidents involving cyclists in Silicon Valley between 2014 and 2018.  

Over 40 bicyclists died and another 3,520 were injured during these four years. In total, there were almost 3,750 bicyclist collisions in Silicon Valley. 

San Jose had the highest percentage of bicyclist collisions with 1,473 accidents. About 1,430 people were hospitalized as a result of these crashes, and another 21 lost their lives. These stats make San Jose not only one of California’s least safe cycling cities but also one of the worst in the nation.

When analyzing crash trends in San Jose, study authors pinpointed a few regions where bicyclist accidents were more common. A few of the most dangerous areas include:

• Around San Jose State University and Plaza de Cesar Chavez

• Along South Market Street

• Between East Santa Clara and South Fourth streets

• Between East San Fernando and South Fourth streets  

Although San Jose is by far South Bay’s most dangerous cycling city, analysts found Palo Alto also has safety issues. Often branded as one of California’s safest cycling cities, Palo Alto had over 460 cyclist crashes between 2014 and 2018. 

Even more surprising, the Palo Alto intersection between Waverly Street and University Avenue is considered one of the most unsafe areas for Bay Area cyclists. Within the study period, there were 49 cyclist collisions and 40 injuries at this intersection. 

San Jose is now working with the Swedish-based Vision Zero initiative to eliminate all traffic fatalities. You can learn more about the city’s progress with Vision Zero by clicking on this link.

For more info on the study compiled by 1Point21 Interactive, please visit this official website.    

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