Traffic seen on Pedrick Road, near the Campbell’s Soup processing facility

DIXON, CA (MPG) – Efforts to assess local roadway safety through an online interactive map earlier this year garnered considerable attention from Dixon residents.

More than 300 comments were received online and at in-person events, according to Emma McNeil, Dixon’s acting public information officer. The survey findings are being used to help update Dixon’s local roadway safety plan.

The city is developing the plan to reduce crashes, save lives and improve safety on city roads. As part of the process, Dixon launched the online interactive map during the summer to gather feedback on priorities, needs and potential improvements within Dixon. 

Significant frustration was registered about an array of topics, including train tracks through downtown Dixon, the perception that the city’s roads are unfriendly to bike riders and the overall condition of outlying thoroughfares. 

Feedback was often very specific: “The left-hand turning lane from Batavia onto Dixon Avenue needs to be repaved”; “Speeding daily on Folsom Fair Circle. It’s a race track!”; and, near the intersection of Pitt School Road and West H Street, “Dead city tree: could fall on pedestrians walking on the sidewalk.”

Others were more general: “I’ve been noticing huge cracks everywhere I drive in Dixon,” and “People speed all over town.”

Some comments were buttressed with dramatic language: “The road on Pedrick from the tracks to the freeway is criminally unsafe.”

To be fair, Pedrick Road appears to be a sore spot with many residents. It received more than three dozen comments on the online survey, many focusing on the quality of the pavement.

“Pedrick Road needs to be repaved,” a resident wrote on July 15. 

“Some of the worst potholes in the city,” another commented on July 21.

“Pedrick Road is a raceway all day long,” wrote a third individual on July 23.  

A local roadway safety plan is a means to help cities evaluate how people currently travel, understand where and why crashes happen, and recommend projects, policies and programs to help reduce serious injuries and fatalities.

The next step is to review the comments gathered through community outreach and an analysis of traffic accidents and then use those findings to develop proposed safety improvements, McNeil said. 

“The community will have another opportunity to review and comment on the recommendations and draft plan before the final plan goes to City Council for consideration,” she added.

Dixon is working with DKS Associates on its local roadway safety plan. DKS is involved with reviewing the existing plan, analyzing crash data, gathering community input, developing safety recommendations and preparing the draft and final plan, McNeil said. 

It is also helping the city prepare grant applications through the Highway Safety Improvement Program. DKS Associates was awarded a contract in March for the project, which is not to exceed $150,000.

A public review of the draft plan is expected during the fall, with the plan scheduled to be finalized this winter, according to a project timeline released by the city.