Yuma knows where its worst crashes happen. The plan to fix them doesn't have any money yet.

Between 2015 and 2024, there were 17,387 crashes in Yuma. That's the city's count.

104 of them killed someone. Another 431 left someone with a suspected serious injury.

On Nov. 4, the City Council adopted a plan that says where those crashes keep happening and what it would take to make them stop.

It went through on the consent agenda, the batch of routine items Council approves in a single vote. Two weeks earlier, Council had voted 7-0 to push it back to that meeting.

The number that jumped out

According to the city's staff report, the fatal crash rate rose 112 percent over that 10-year stretch.

For a sense of a single year: the Arizona Department of Transportation counted 1,536 crashes inside Yuma city limits in 2024. Seven were fatal.

Where

The plan ranks Yuma's roads by how often crashes happen, how bad they are and how much traffic each road carries. Here's where it lands.

Six intersections:

• 32nd Street at Pacific Avenue
• 32nd Street at Avenue 3E
• 32nd Street at 8th Avenue
• Avenue B at 8th Street
• Avenue B at 16th Street
• Avenue B at 20th Street

Four corridors:

• 4th Avenue, from 1st Street to Catalina Drive
• 24th Street, from 18th Avenue to 4th Avenue
• 5th Avenue, from 6th Street to 13th Street
• Magnolia Avenue, from 1st Street to 3rd Street

If you drive in Yuma, you know at least one of these.

The plan also names the patterns behind the crashes: intersections, cars leaving their lanes, motorcyclists, nighttime driving, pedestrians, bicyclists, impaired driving, speeding and people not buckling up.

What it costs, and who pays

The planning-level estimate for all of it is $31.33 million. The staff report doesn't break that down by project.

Here's the part that matters. On the city's own form, the fiscal impact of adopting the plan is listed as zero. The staff report says adoption "does not authorize construction contracts or commit funding for individual projects."

Every one of these fixes still needs its own study, its own design, its own money and its own vote by Council.

The plan itself was paid for with federal Safe Streets and Roads for All planning money and state AZ Smart funding. The city's listed next steps:

• Add the priority projects to the Capital Improvement Program.
• Apply for federal Safe Streets and Roads for All implementation grants and other grants.
• Monitor and evaluate progress every year.
• Update the plan about every five years.

The goal

Cut fatal and serious-injury crashes by two-thirds by 2040, including crashes involving people on foot and on bikes. The long-term goal is zero.

One thing in the paperwork

The staff report says the plan "recommends eight high-priority projects." Then it lists ten locations: six intersections and four corridors.

My opinion: It's probably a typo, or a grouping the summary doesn't show. But a document whose whole job is setting priorities should be able to say how many it has.

What to watch

• Whether these projects show up in the city's next Capital Improvement Program.
• Whether the city applies for implementation grants, and when.
• The first annual progress report.

A plan is where you start. The intersections will look exactly the same tomorrow morning.

Where this comes from

• Yuma Road Safety Action Plan, file R2026-047, City of Yuma, adopted Nov. 4, 2026. Official record. The plan report as attached to the Council item.
• Staff report, R2026-047, City of Yuma Legistar. Official record. Source for the crash counts, the 112 percent figure, priority locations, the $31.33 million estimate, the fiscal impact, funding sources, goals and next steps.
• Council action history, R2026-047, City of Yuma Legistar. Official record. Source for the Oct. 21 continuance (7-0) and the Nov. 4 adoption on consent.
• 2024 Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, Arizona Department of Transportation. Official record. Source for the 2024 crash and fatal crash counts inside Yuma city limits.
• City plan focuses on fatal and serious injury crashes, Yuma Sun. Reporting. Background on the plan's development.