Highway 17 crashes still on troubling rise
Millions in road and safety improvements are on way as traffic is expected to soar
Collisions on Highway 17 continue to skyrocket, wiping out a nearly 20-year trend of fewer crashes and deaths on the unforgiving 26 miles of twists and steep turns from Scotts Valley to Los Gatos.
And the future looks bleak despite millions spent on dozens of road and safety improvements.
Traffic is projected to rise from 64,000 vehicles today to 74,000 by 2040. More cars and SUVS could lead to more fender benders and worse.
“Highway 17 can be a scary road to drive because the people who do commute it on a regular basis make it feel like a racetrack,” said Denice Austin of Ben Lomond.
High collision rates on Highway 17 precipitated the formation of the Safe on 17 Task Force in 1999.
It was convened to identify conditions and behaviors contributing to collisions on the corridor and to recommend solutions.
The task force drew from a broad set of strategies that would reduce the high collision rate. Crashes fell by 40%.
But in the past three years, the number of fatal and injury colli
sions on Highway 17 has increased substantially.
In 2018, the number of fatality and injury collisions was 8.5% higher than the preprogram average of 249 each year from 1996 to 1998.
The most recent threeyear average of fatal and injury collisions is 258, which does not meet the goal of the task force to maintain the reduced three-year collision rate average achieved of 165 injury and fatal collisions.
High numbers of crashes and fatalities in the 1990s spurred a safety campaign that led to nearly $250 million in
spending since 2003 on roadway improvements, including median barriers, wider shoulders, antiskid pavement, flashing warning signs and tree removal. It was spurred by a particularly bloody 1996 that saw 793 crashes, 151 injuries and nine deaths.
Those numbers dropped dramatically until recent years.
There were 983 collisions in 2016 during a winter of heavy rains and reduced enforcement, producing the highest tally since the intensive safety campaign kicked off.
“We need to reduce vehicle accidents along this particular stretch of highway,” said state Sen. Jim Beall. “Ensuring our roads are in top condition for fire and rescue crews at all times should be a top priority.”
Caltrans began repaving the highway in Santa Cruz County during the summer and in two years will resurface the Santa Clara County stretch.
Much of the new pavement will be an anti-skid surface that has helped reduce crashes at the Big Moody Curve between Redwood Road Estates and Idylwild Road.
And there is a big job to stabilize the hillside in Santa Clara County where leaking water has led to countless spinouts.
There are long-range plans for a $450 million effort to ban left turns, make 32 roadside changes and build interchanges at places like Vine Hill Road. Some money from the recently approved higher gas tax could be considered for the work.
For now, slow down, avoid changing lanes, don’t tailgate and, of course, stay off the cellphone.