14 traffic deaths in 2024 puts Salem on path for record-breaking year

Lois Randall died May 22 crossing a busy stretch of Liberty Street in north Salem in her motorized chair, becoming the 14th traffic fatality in Salem in 2024.

The 70-year-old's death also marked the point the city surpassed the number of traffic fatalities for the entirety of 2023. With six more months to go, 2024 could end up being a record-breaking year for traffic deaths in Salem.

"Each one of these deaths is tragic," Salem Police Deputy Chief Treven Upkes said.

In the past, traffic fatalities have kept pace with the population growth or trended down until this year, Upkes said.

Police have not pinpointed a single cause in the uptick — the contributing factors in the 14 deadly crashes were across the board.

Deaths this year included a wrong-way DUI vehicle collision, a pedestrian hit in a crosswalk, a motorcyclist running into a concrete barrier near the Center Street bridge and a pedestrian struck while on a highway on-ramp.

Upkes noted more deaths occurred in south Salem, a factor he attributed to the growth in population and increased traffic in the area.

Salem is not the only city seeing a spike in traffic deaths.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reported a statewide 73% increase in traffic deaths per year from 2010 to 2022, including a notable increase during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts highlighted speed and high-profile vehicles such as trucks and SUVs among the contributing factors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials said in a recent report that the fatality rate involving "vulnerable road users" — bicyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists — is increasing. They also pointed to distracted driving as a contributing factor to the increase in fatalities. In 2022, 3,308 people were killed in the United States in crashes involving distracted drivers.

Salem city councilor: 'These are all preventable deaths'

City Councilor Virginia Stapleton addressed Salem's fatality milestone during the June 10 council meeting.

"We are now six months into the year ... and we are set to double the numbers from last year," she said. "That, to me, is just unacceptable. These are all preventable deaths, and it's really devastating to have that."

Stapleton told the Statesman Journal that transportation safety has long been her passion project.

"I wish it brought out more passion from everybody," she said. "What I see a lot of times is just complacency or sad acceptance that a system we all utilize is so deadly."

Stapleton has made motions to support the "20 is Plenty" campaign to reduce speeds in residential streets, the Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths among cyclists, pedestrians and drivers over the next 10 years, and pedestrian-led intervals at downtown crosswalks to reduce traffic deaths.

Hot zones of crashes and fatalities in the city, which tend to be near busy, high-speed roads such as Lancaster Drive, Commercial Street and Portland Road, demonstrate how design impacts safety, she said.

"We're starting to see clearly how our infrastructure is leading to the deaths of people on our roadways," Stapleton said.

The Vision Zero idea pairs building an environment that reduces speeds and increases pedestrian and cyclist visibility and safety with enforcement to reduce deaths.

Last year, the federal government awarded Salem a $2.8-million grant to support its Vision Zero program.

Despite the number of deaths this year, Stapleton said she is seeing some improvements.

She said Public Works Director Brian Martin and City Manager Keith Stahley are trying to find ways to "elevate the most vulnerable road users."

"Both of them are on board with this and and see the lack in the previous decades where the infrastructure we've built has really set us up for this failure," Stapleton said.

She pointed to projects like intersection art in neighborhoods, flashing beacon pedestrian crossing and protected bike lines as promising moves to increase safety. Residents also can request radar reader boards in their neighborhood to reduce speeding and report traffic violations through a citizen traffic report form online.

"My ask of our community would be that we develop more empathy for others who are using other forms and not pit each other against each other," Stapleton said. "It's not cars versus bikes or bikes versus pedestrians."

Funding, staffing to prevent crashes limited due to funding

Upkes said preventing crashes through education, patrols and enforcement would be ideal.

"It's difficult to manage with the resources we've had," he said.

Salem's traffic team is understaffed and stretched thin, currently operating with four officers and a sergeant. The team spends days and sometimes months investigating serious crashes and assisting the department in responding to community violence.

The team is adding one more person through a transfer on July 1 and Upkes said he hopes to have the team fully staffed with six officers and a sergeant by January.

Until then, police are working with the resources they have to prevent these tragedies. Upkes said this can include using the Speed on Green cameras for speed enforcement and applying for grants to fund supplemental patrols, especially during the fall and winter months when darker days can lead to more crashes.

Stapleton said due to budget challenges, the city is in a holding pattern.

Legislative leaders have said the next session that begins in January will have a focus on transportation and "trying to address the budget gaps for cities and municipalities around the state, including ODOT, to get that revenue in so that we can make the investments that we need," said Stapleton, who won the Democrat primary in May to run for Oregon House District 21, which encompasses Keizer and North Salem.

The federal funds coming in from the Vision Zero and Safe Streets grants should help in the coming months. Stapleton said she wants people to view the city's transportation system more holistically and with an equity lens.

"Just because we've been doing it a certain way for 70 years, 80 years, doesn't mean that's the right path forward," she said. "We can imagine a different future for our city — one where nobody dies. I think that's a great thing to push for and work towards."

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on X at @wmwoodworth

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem traffic deaths: City on path to break record in 2024