California Assembly members Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) and Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) recently introduced the Safe Roads and Wildlife Protection Act, which would prioritize crossings and other infrastructure projects to make California roads safer.
The legislation would require the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to identify wildlife movement barriers before planning transportation projects and implement at least 10 projects per year to improve wildlife connectivity.
“We know the toll that wildlife and vehicle collisions take every year, and yet we keep repeating the same mistakes when it comes to building infrastructure,” Friedman said.
“A.B. 2344 shifts the focus at Caltrans to more inclusive design that can save the lives of people and wildlife.”
The University of California, Davis Road Ecology Center reported more than 44,000 wildlife-vehicle collisions in California from 2016-20, totaling at least $1 billion in damages.
