Berkeley had at least 30 injury crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists in January, according to data released by the city this week.
The Berkeley Police Department shared a list of those incidents Wednesday in response to a Berkeleyside inquiry. At least 19 involved pedestrians and 11 involved cyclists, according to the data. Berkeleyside put them on a map*. Details such as circumstances and severity of the crashes were not provided, but Berkeleyside reported some of that information previously.
The city is working on a plan called Vision Zero to eliminate pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in the city by 2028. According to a staff report to City Council this week, “14% of Berkeley’s street miles account for 93% of pedestrian fatalities & severe injuries.” The city has identified a number of “high-injury corridors” around town. They include many of Berkeley’s busiest streets, from Shattuck Avenue and Sacramento Street to Cedar Street, University Avenue and Ashby Avenue.
According to the council report, which focused on Berkeley’s Pedestrian Plan, more than 30% of the pedestrians injured from 2012 to 2016 were 45-64 years old, though the age group represents just 20% of Berkeley residents. Black pedestrians made up more than 18% of the people who were hit despite being just 8% of the city’s population, according to the city report.
* Please note: BPD said its list may be incomplete because not all the reports are done and because some of the incidents are tracked separately. And bike crashes could potentially involve fixed objects or the roadway, rather than vehicles. Two of the incidents could not be mapped because the cross-streets were not provided.
