Los Angeles Walks and L.A. Streetsblog are teaming up to earn an "L.A. 2050" Grant to make Los Angeles the "Healthiest Place to Live" by 2050. Our grant focuses on the creation of a "Vision Zero" plan and campaign for Los Angeles and two of our surrounding cities.
L.A. 2050 is asking people to vote on what the best ideas our with winners guaranteed a $100,000 grant. You can vote for the L.A. Walks/Streetsblog L.A. grant by clicking here. Voting doesn't begin until next month. Don't worry, we'll let you know as it begins.
Vision Zero Los Angeles will engage residents and policy makers to encourage introduction of Vision Zero policies in the City of Los Angeles and other jurisdictions in Los Angeles County. Vision Zero focuses on reducing fatalities from vehicle crashes to zero, or, more likely, to as close to zero as possible. I've written more about why L.A. needs to adopt a Vision Zero framework before.
Unsafe streets are detrimental to health in both the short and long term. Every year, crashes in L.A. kill hundreds and injure tens of thousands; disproportionately these are vulnerable road users: pedestrians and cyclists. With unsafe speeding car traffic, people become discouraged from walking and bicycling; this results in decreased physical activity leading to long-term chronic illnesses. Safer, more walkable streets have all kinds of ancillary health benefits, too - from better air and water quality, to stronger neighbor networks, to easier access to health care facilities.
The Vision Zero Los Angeles project will utilize creative community workshops, local walks, media coverage, and policy advocacy to create a campaign for the City of L.A. and at least two other cities in the County to adopt Vision Zero policies, as models that can inspire more cities to make streets safer for all residents.
To read more, or to vote for the project (in September), click here.
