“We’ve seen a substantial increase in the number of deaths and injuries on our streets from people walking and biking,” said Kathleen Ferrier of Circulate San Diego, a regional nonprofit advocacy group for better transportation. “With Road Diets, safety is increased hugely and the number of crashes are reduced between almost 20 and 50 percent,” she said.

In a Road Diet, a four lane road is typically reduced to a two lane road. The lanes taken away are replaced with dedicated bike lanes.