Safe Streets Petaluma

UPDATE 12/12/22:  Your donation now means more than ever. We’re excited to officially announce that Petaluma has been selected by City Thread to participate in a nationwide program to speed up the construction of safe streets. As part of the program, our $15,000 raised here will be matched by $50,000 worth of assistance, including a community-specific mobility audit of the city’s current practices and an action plan for improved implementation and partnership.

City Thread has selected a diverse cohort of cities to participate in the Accelerated Mobility Playbook technical assistance program designed to help fast-forward the build-out of their mobility networks. 

Communities chosen include Bainbridge Island, WA; Syracuse, NY; Gulfport, MS; Cleveland, OH; Milwaukee, WI; Tucson, AZ; Santa Rosa, CA; Petaluma, CA; and Indianapolis, IN. 

Each city will receive $50,000 in Accelerated Mobility Playbook (AMP) technical assistance from the nonprofit consultancy led by national mobility experts Zoe Kircos, Sara Studdard, and Kyle Wagenschutz. This assistance includes a community-specific mobility audit of the city’s current state of practice and an action plan for improved implementation and partnership. 

“There’s overwhelming public support for building networks of bike lanes, trails, parks, sidewalks, and open space, but cities get stuck when the build-out gets bogged down by politics and budget negotiations,” Wagenschutz said. “ We’re excited to work with a great mix of cities that have stepped up to lead the way to a healthier, better connected and sustainable world.”

Safe Streets Petaluma is a coalition of City Council members, neighborhood groups, businesses, and other community members who want action! We’ve defined our goals in our Safe Streets Policy Platform. Thanks to the advocacy of our members, the Petaluma City Council adopted our Platform when it voted unanimously to make Safe and Complete Streets one of its Top Ten Goals and Priorities for fiscal year 2022/23. And they allocated $1.6 million per year for “Quick Build” projects! Since then, the City adopted our recommendation to reconsider a major arterial repaving project (North McDowell Blvd), developing an alternative with protected bike lanes along the entire length of the project.

1. Finalize our agreement with City Thread as part of the Accelerated Mobility Playbook technical assistance program
2. Continue to expand the Safe Streets Petaluma coalition and advocate for ongoing Safe Streets projects. 
3. With City Thread’s guidance, rapidly transform Petaluma's streets into safe, inviting streets for all!
4. In the process, we will help "stitch together" elements of the community in support of mutually beneficial projects of all kinds.

By building coalitions and creating relationships that will make it safe (and easy!) for people of all ages, incomes, and abilities to get around town without getting in a car, we will: 

• Reduce traffic.
• Reduce collisions, injuries, and fatalities. 
• Reduce greenhouse gas pollution. 
• Reduce air pollution.
• Reduce noise pollution.
• Make it possible to live and work in Petaluma without the need to own a car.
• Create joyful, people-friendly streets for all.

In the process, we will help "stitch together" elements of the community in support of mutually beneficial project of all kinds, transforming the fabric of our community.

We hope you will join us in making this a reality!