City’s Vision Zero Plan Strives to Eliminate Traffic Deaths

Updates to Santa Clara’s bicycle and pedestrian plans in recent years have called for more comprehensive measures to eliminate traffic deaths.

Consequently, the city undertook a Vision Zero plan. Federal grant money funds Vision Zero, which takes aim at severe traffic collisions. The project collects community input, identifies locations for improvements and explores countermeasures and strategies to enhance safety.

“The goal there is to really focus efforts on fatalities and severe injuries,” said Michael Liw, assistant public works director. “The notion with Vision Zero … is that traffic fatalities should not be acceptable in any form.”

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Often, Liw said, the idea that traffic fatalities are inevitable is prevalent. Vision Zero efforts, which are gaining traction nationwide, aim to prove that, with the right tools, those bad outcomes can be eliminated. 

The city is roughly halfway through the Vision Zero process. It conducted another community survey and, following that survey, hosted a second community workshop May 7.

In addition to community input, Vision Zero relies heavily on data to capture information about problem areas of the city. However, community input is essential because data doesn’t capture concerns such as near-misses, Liw said.

Because collision data becomes “stale,” the city analyzes it on a yearly basis, comparing it to the bicycle and pedestrian plans, updating priorities as warranted.

“The plan is going to help us prioritize corridors that need attention, whether through education or improvements,” Liw said.

Through a working group, Vision Zero also involves area partners such as Caltrans, Valley Transit Authority (VTA) and the county to better understand a complete picture of how motorists interact with travelers.

This information, Liw said, allows the city to design a “menu” of items that are in the city’s “countermeasure toolbox.” 

This information bolsters Vision Zero’s safe systems approach. This approach is predicated on a variety of principles: death and serious injuries are unacceptable, people make mistakes, people are vulnerable, responsibility is shared, safety is proactive and redundancy is crucial.

With Vision Zero, the city can examine what methods might be best to get a desired result. Cost and time are key contributors, Liw said. The city is always searching for means to reduce traffic collisions that can be put in place quickly and inexpensively, which are typically closely related.

While measures such as plastic-post bike lane protection, roundabouts and sidewalk setbacks may be effective, they also take more time and cost more money than other measures. Taking cues from neighboring cities, Liw said a suite of other measures — such as lawn signs and crosswalk flags — can achieve the desired result for areas where data shows minor tweaks could yield good results with minimal time and financial investment.

Santa Clara Council Member Karen Hardy is the chair of the city’s Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). When she took over that role, she said the committee was a “disaster.” The committee’s culture, she said, was a “Survivor-type situation” where committee members were “voted off” if they didn’t toe the line.

Instead of having a “knee-jerk” reaction, she said worked hard in her role to ensure the committee focused on the things it could change and be solution-oriented. Through the BPAC, she pushed hard to have Vision Zero get off the ground.

“Every life is important, so when we lose lives over accidents in town, I will tell you it bothers me,” she said.

The Santa Clara Vision Zero plan is slated for completion late this year or early next year.

Contact David Alexander at d.todd,alexander@gmail.com

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