Mayor Eric Garcetti and city transportation officials announced a street and sidewalk safety plan today that includes a goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities by the year 2025, mirroring efforts in New York and San Francisco.
The goal, dubbed “Vision Zero,” is one of several detailed in the “Great Streets for Los Angeles” report released by Garcetti and Department of Transportation General Manager Seleta Reynolds.
The Vision Zero initiative has its origins in an effort started in Sweden in 1997. It has also been adopted in Boston. Los Angeles’ plan includes the installation of 100 highly visible crosswalks, among other measures.
Other goals included in the 62-page report are:
— the mayor’s plan to remake 15 “Great Streets” around the city to so they are safer for pedestrians and bicyclists;
— streamlining the operations of the Transportation Department;
— improving the Transportation Department’s customer service; and
— using real-time information to better manage foot and car traffic throughout the city.
“We are changing our approach to transportation by building a system that offers Angelenos multiple options for how to get around,” Garcetti said. “LADOT is at the heart of making this vision a reality in L.A., and the strategic plan establishes the concrete steps the department will take to accomplish this over the next few years.”
Reynolds called the plan “an urban constitution for what L.A.’s streets can be and how to make them safer and better for the economy and for all Angelenos, no matter how they get around.”
