Crash patterns in the community appear disproportionately high compared with other areas of Butte County. Degined by Freepik

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Federal transportation safety data presented to regional officials last month is drawing attention from Gridley leaders after a city representative said crash patterns in the community appear disproportionately high compared with other areas of Butte County.

At the Feb. 26 meeting of the Butte County Association of Governments, regional analyst Brian Lasagna presented federally required Safety Performance Measures used to track fatalities and serious traffic injuries across the county transportation system.

The measures are part of a national performance-based planning framework requiring metropolitan planning organizations such as BCAG to monitor crash trends and set safety targets in coordination with the California Department of Transportation and local jurisdictions.

Lasagna said statewide safety targets adopted by Caltrans call for roughly 3% to 5% annual reductions in fatalities and serious injuries, including crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists. The targets are reviewed annually and used to guide transportation planning and project funding decisions.

The presentation also included a regional crash map showing clusters of fatal collisions across Butte County.

During discussion, Gridley Vice Mayor Bruce Johnson said the map appeared to show a concentration of fatal crashes in the Gridley area relative to the city’s population.

“Just looking at the map overall, it looks like per capita maybe Gridley has the highest fatality rates right there,” Johnson told the board.

Johnson suggested traffic speeds along Highway 99 through the city may be contributing to the problem, describing portions of the corridor as a “50-mile-an-hour racetrack.”

Johnson later told the Gridley City Council the data presented during the BCAG meeting showed unsafe speed and DUI together accounted for about 67% of fatal crashes, reinforcing concerns about traffic conditions through the city.

BCAG officials said the state highway corridor falls under Caltrans jurisdiction but noted safety improvements could be incorporated into future highway projects. Lasagna also pointed to planned design changes along Highway 99 through Gridley, including separated bicycle and pedestrian facilities, lane reductions, and potential roundabouts intended to slow traffic.

Board members also discussed whether growing use of electric bicycles may be contributing to safety concerns.

Lasagna said current crash data does not distinguish electric bicycles from other non-motorized users, but staff would continue monitoring trends.

“Not much has changed regionally over the last year,” Lasagna told the board. “Fatalities are exactly the same, but we did see a slight increase in serious injuries among non-motorized users.”

BCAG officials said the safety data is shared with the agency’s Transportation Advisory Committee and incorporated into project scoring when transportation funding opportunities arise, allowing jurisdictions to prioritize projects that address crash trends.

Following discussion, the BCAG board approved Lasagna’s recommendation to support the 2026 statewide safety performance targets and continue planning and programming projects intended to help the region meet those goals.

The BCAG board also heard a presentation from transit planning firm Jarrett Walker and Associates outlining options for a Butte Regional Transit routing study focused primarily on service in Chico and Oroville.

Johnson reported to the council on March 2 that the presentation was “pretty interesting,” describing how the study is examining potential tradeoffs between a system designed to maximize ridership and one that provides broader geographic coverage, with the possibility of a hybrid approach combining the two.