Update on our Legislation that Saves Lives Campaign: AB43 and AB413

About two years ago, we kicked off our Legislation that Saves Lives campaign, calling on the City of San Diego to immediately implement two important state laws: AB43 (lowering speed limits in key pedestrian and safety zones) and AB413 (daylighting intersections to improve visibility and prevent crashes). We proudly launched this campaign at the 2024 CalBike Summit right here in San Diego.

Since then, we’ve worked hard — meeting with every City Council office, the Mayor’s team, and the Transportation Department to push for a strategic plan forward. We showed how cities like Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland are already leading the way on AB43, and how over 40 states have adopted daylighting practices.

Our advocacy made it into Councilmember Stephen Whitburn’s FY24 budget priorities, and we voiced strong support at the Active Transportation Committee, budget hearings, and numerous Community Planning Groups across the city, from La Jolla to Normal Heights.

Thanks to the leadership of Councilmembers Whitburn and Campillo, the city developed an initial plan focusing on reducing speeds in business improvement districts like North Park, Hillcrest, and City Heights. After passing through the Active Transportation Committee in February 2025, the plan was officially approved by the full City Council on April 22.

At the same time, we’ve seen Daylighting rollout citywide, with a smart focus on pedestrian priority zones. Enforcement rules for protecting daylit intersections were also passed—ensuring these changes have real impact.

Where We Go From Here

While we're grateful for these life-saving steps, there’s more work ahead:

• For AB43:
  Expand speed reductions to school zones citywide. This year, the Vision Zero Coalition — including groups like the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, Families for Safe Streets San Diego, Climate Action Campaign, Circulate San Diego, SanDiego350, and BeautifulPB — submitted a $150,000 budget request to fund this next phase. AB43 allows the city to set school zone speed limits at 15 mph within 500 feet of a school, and 25 mph within 500–1,000 feet. Speed matters: the chances of dying as a pedestrian when struck by a car are 1.8% at 15 mph, 8% at 20 mph, 20% at 30 mph, and a devastating 46% at 40 mph. Slowing down saves lives — and this simple, low-cost change would make a major difference for San Diego's kids and families.

• For AB413:
  Paint as many curbs as possible and bundle daylighting projects with upcoming work orders to move faster. Over time, we should transform these cleared curb spaces into bike-share docks (p.s. bring back bikeshare!), parklets, murals, or bulb-outs reinforced with flexposts or hard infrastructure to protect people walking and biking. Done right, these changes won't just make intersections safer — they'll help create more vibrant, people-centered neighborhoods.

We look forward to continuing this work alongside our communities, local businesses, and city leaders to slow down traffic and save lives.

Stay tuned — and stay involved.