(The Center Square) – The City of Spokane has launched a pilot program that will deploy temporary traffic-calming measures within days of fatal traffic crashes, an effort officials say is designed to slow drivers and raise awareness while the city evaluates longer-term safety improvements.
The new Emergency Streets program calls for city crews to respond to a fatal crash within 48 to 72 hours. Depending on roadway conditions, crews may install traffic cones, bright pink signs, roadway stenciling and speed-feedback signs.The temporary measures will remain in place for about two weeks while city staff collect speed data, monitor traffic conditions and gather feedback from people who live near the crash site, according to the City of Spokane’s Emergency Streets program page.The program comes as Spokane continues to address a significant number of fatal and serious-injury crashes.According to the city’s August 2026 overview of the Emergency Streets pilot, Spokane recorded more than 100 fatal crashes and more than 500 serious-injury crashes from 2021 through 2025. In 2025 alone, 22 people died in traffic crashes, including 12 pedestrians.”As a society we are really good at responding to crashes and returning the streets to normal. But we are missing opportunities to inform the public about the prevalence of fatal crashes,” Jon Snyder, director of the city’s Division of Transportation & Sustainability, said in the city’s Sept. 10 news release.”The goal of Emergency Streets is to get folks to slow down and understand how safety is a shared responsibility, while we at the City of Spokane look for ways to improve design and other strategies to stop fatal crashes,” Snyder said.The city says the pilot is intended to address the period immediately following a fatal crash, when temporary changes could influence driver behavior while officials study the location and consider longer-term improvements.Fatal crashes will also be reviewed by Spokane’s Traffic Fatality Review Team, a multidisciplinary group led by the city’s Division of Transportation & Sustainability.The team evaluates crash circumstances and other factors that could inform future safety improvements, according to the Emergency Streets program page.The Emergency Streets pilot is funded by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission’s Speed Management Advisory Cooperative and the Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Council, with additional support from the Spokane Regional Health District and other partners, according to the city.The city did not publicly disclose a total dollar amount for the Emergency Streets pilot in its public program materials.The pilot will run through June 30, 2027.The program is part of Spokane’s broader Vision Zero effort. The city says the pilot aligns with Spokane’s 2022 Vision Zero goals and Washington state’s Target Zero initiative to eliminate traffic deaths.Residents near Emergency Streets deployments will receive notification materials and have an opportunity to provide feedback through a survey. The city also says it will share updates through Community Assembly, the Office of Neighborhood Services, social media and community newsletters.The city’s Emergency Streets page also provides supporting materials, including a June 2026 presentation to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission’s Speed Management Advisory Cooperative and a link to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s crash data portal.