Circulate San Diego wrote a letter to San Diego City Councilmembers, commending them for their unanimous support of the Vision Zero Resolution in October 2015. Circulate asks for the Councilmember's continued support of Vision Zero by prioritizing funding for biking and walking infrastructure improvements along Vision Zero corridors, specifically those projects outlined in a variety of adopted plans, in order to ameliorate traffic fatalities.
There is an urgent need to take action. Data collected by the San Diego Police Department indicates almost 200 people were seriously injured or killed in traffic crashes last year, with a 17% increase over 2014 in the number of crashes resulting in death. Further, there was a 42% increase in the number of pedestrians seriously injured in crashes.
Circulate SD and its partners are pleased to see work underway to reach zero traffic deaths in San Diego by 2025. This work includes:
- A multi-disciplinary Vision Zero Task Force will kick off its first meeting in January for the purpose of creating a 1-year multi-faceted strategy to help the City reach the goal of zero deaths. We hope to have a plan drafted by end March. This plan will be created around the framework of Engineering safe streets, Education, and Enforcement.
- The City’s Transportation and Stormwater Department has convened a Working Group to develop safe street design recommendations for one of the most dangerous ½ mile section of University Avenue. The Working Group involves city staff and community representatives. This is a highly effective model and we would favor this approach for other corridors moving forward.
Circulate urges the City to also prioritize Vision Zero requests based on crash data and location in an underserved community. We also hope to discuss these as part of the Task Force.
