LADOT Releases Vision Zero Action Plan

This morning, the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Transportation released its Vision Zero Action Plan.

In 2015, Mayor Garcetti issued his Vision Zero directive putting L.A. on course to eliminate all traffic fatalities by 2025. The L.A. City Council reaffirmed a Vision Zero commitment by approving similar policies in its Mobility Plan 2035. During 2016, LADOT did a deeper dive into traffic death and injury data, and hosted a series of focus group meetings for input.

In an interview with Streetsblog, LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds emphasized that Vision Zero policy work is still focused on raising awareness. Reynolds stressed that LADOT, LAPD, and other city departments intend to work closely with community organizations, including the Vision Zero Alliance. Reynolds wants the city to work with community groups to change L.A. attitudes to see saving lives as more critical than marginal increases in car throughput.

LADOT further analyzed the identified High-Injury Network to identify 40 priority corridors where the city will prioritize projects, policies, and programs to reduce traffic violence. Reynolds stated that the major problem in these corridors is speeding. Safety interventions will include around 15 engineering projects, including improvements like signal re-timing and road diets.

Reynolds further emphasized the importance of the city’s push to change state laws to improve traffic safety in L.A. She also stated that LADOT is pushing for the state to revise right-of-way laws that define jaywalking, as well as revising how cities can enforce speed limits.