Should El Cerrito be a Vision Zero city?


In its Local Road Safety Plan survey, El Cerrito asked participants whether the city should pursue becoming a Vision Zero city. Cities across the world, confronted by increasing fatality rates, are adopting Vision Zero and its Safe Systems Approach, with the ultimate goal of eliminating traffic-related fatalities and injuries on city streets by transforming how they are designed. In 2019, Berkeley became a Vision Zero city and adopted a plan with the goal “to eliminate traffic deaths and severe injuries on our city streets by 2028.” Hoboken, New Jersey, a city of 60,000 people, adopted a Vision Zero policy and hasn't had a traffic death in 4 years.

Vision Zero is an international movement to increase street safety by changing how cities approach transportation. Presently our culture seems to believe that death and injury on our streets is just a price we pay for the convenience of automobility; the burden for making our streets safe is on the individual to drive safely, walk with attention, and bicycle with courtesy as guests in an automobile world. Yet more and more cities are saying this doesn't have to be; we can have both mobility and safety no matter your travel mode of choice.

The Vision Zero movement changes the safety paradigm by recognizing the inevitability of mistakes in travel movement. To reduce the likelihood of tragic driving mistakes, Vision Zero guides cities to redesign streets for lower speeds and encourage the public to drive safer, smaller vehicles. 

— Steve Price

Top image: Vision Zero is a fundamentally different approach to transportation planning.
Source: VisionZero Network.

Vision Zero is a multidimensional approach to street safety. Source: Federal Highway Administration

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CalWalks-SafeTREC report promotes safer streets for El Cerrito and Richmond Annex

Image
A new report from California Walks and the University of California Safe Transportation and Education Center (SafeTREC) highlights strategies to promote safer streets in El Cerrito and Richmond Annex, especially for slowing down traffic and making pedestrian- and bike-friendly improvements on San Pablo Avenue, Central Avenue, Carlson Avenue, and Cutting Boulevard. “ El Cerrito and Richmond Annex Summary and Recommendations Report ” is the culmination of a workshop convened on July 25 by the Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program (CPBST), a project of California Walks and SafeTREC. After a 2-month planning process, about 35 participants met virtually, including residents, and representatives from the El Cerrito Strollers & Rollers, Richmond Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committees, the cities of El Cerrito and Richmond, West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee, El Cerrito Trail Trekkers, and others.   The goals of the CPBST workshop were to improve walking and
Read more

OUT IN THE WORLD WITHOUT A CAR: The Spring Ride

Image
By Laura Lent Since 2002 I have been part of an informal group of friends who go on an annual bike tour we call the "Spring Ride."  We've bike camped our way from the Antioch BART station to Yosemite and various Sierra foothill destinations, we've gone north and south along the coast, and we've taken AMTRAK to Bakersfield and ridden north through Carrizo Plain. We've stayed at a dozen different campgrounds in the "reservoir belt" of the Sierra foothills.   Laura Lent at this year’s Spring Ride. Photo: Joel Pomerantz We generally carry our own gear in panniers, but are often joined by and sometimes partially sagged (support provided and gear carried) by friends in vehicles. A core group rides the entire time, while others join as they can.  While we delight in searching out bucolic backroads, canalside trails, and creative shortcuts, it's always necessary to ride on some busy roads as well. The Spring Ride is not about getting there quickly, but a
Read more

HURRAH FOR USABLE BIKE RACKS! El Cerrito Natural Foods

Image
What is an essential destination for daily living, a place that sustains basic metabolic life? A grocery store! How should you get there if you can't afford a car? You should be able to walk, take a bus, or ride a bicycle. El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company is accessible by all three modes. It is a short walk for nearby residents of El Cerrito and the Richmond Annex—from El Cerrito, crosswalks on San Pablo Avenue deliver you to its front door; it is also on one of the busiest bus routes in the Bay Area—AC Transit’s 72 bus; and it welcomes bicycle riders with visible bicycle racks right near its front entrance. Its inverted-U racks make it easy to lean and lock a bike without the bicycle tipping over. El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company is a role model for providing access to an essential destination for everyone, even if you're car-free. Good bicycle racks help make it so. Wouldn't it be great if every business was this accessible?!
Read more