Thursday, March 28, 2024

Community Voices: The Mayor’s Challenge and Vision Zero

Coronado has no collaborative transportation policy, but there are two sweeping transportation initiatives that could help—“Vision Zero” and the “Mayor’s Challenge.”

Vision Zero was embraced by the city of San Diego just last month. San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles are among California cities to adopt Vision Zero. The program to END traffic deaths and serious injuries began in Sweden in 1997, and is based on the paradigm shift that traffic deaths and injuries are not the norm and citizens should expect better from transportation leaders.

San Diego’s Mayor Faulconer was praised for creating a Vision Zero plan two weeks ago. He believes that “Every San Diegan deserves to feel safe in his or her neighborhood.” One aspect of his plan is to reduce vehicle traffic speed and redesign unfriendly streets.

The Mayor’s Challenge is a bold ball toss made by the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). Mayors are asked to raise the bar on bicyclist and pedestrian safety by leading a call to action for a year-long “Challenge for Safer People and Safer Streets.” The focus is to promote safety, mobility, and accessibility for all users of streets and transportation systems.

The Mayor’s Challenge activities include:

1. Take a Complete Streets approach

2. Identify and address barriers to make streets safe and convenient for all road users, including people of all ages and abilities and those using assistive mobility devices

3. Gather and track biking and walking data

4. Use designs that are appropriate to the context of the street and its uses

5. Take advantage of opportunities to create and complete ped-bike networks through maintenance

6. Improve walking and biking safety laws and regulations

7. Educate and enforce proper road use behavior by all

Complete Streets is number one on that list for a reason. The new model changes the way transportation decisions are made. Motor vehicles no longer own the road. All tax payers deserve equal and safe access. Inclusive movement of all people using all forms of transportation now leads the way.

Complete Streets approach is not mere ideology. The philosophy is tied to most roadway funding and is being encouraged through legislation from the top down. It is not going away.

Ultimately, both Vision Zero and the Mayor’s Challenge initiatives share the same goal that “pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities will be able to safely, conveniently, and easily use roads, sidewalks, bike paths, ferry, transit and rails to get to their destination.”

However, Vision Zero goes a step further to say that humans make mistakes and roadway engineers should anticipate those mistakes when making transportation decisions. The responsibility of error is no longer on the travelers, but on the planners. In a city with no collaborative transportation policy like Coronado, these two programs could be just the right formula at just the right time.

Many TAF members hope city leaders will begin work on a Vision Zero Plan and also adopt one or more of the Mayor’s Challenge Activities.

230 cities across the country and 21 in California have already accepted the months old USDOT Mayor’s Challenge.

City State
Vernon AL 1
Montevallo AL 2
Fairhope AL 3
Birmingham AL 4
Mobile AL 5
Huntsville AL 6
Johnson AR 7
Fayetteville AR 8
Springdale AR 9
Lowell AR 10
Rogers AR 11
Little Rock AR 12
Phoenix AZ 13
Tucson AZ 14
Oro Valley AZ 15
Menlo Park CA 16
San Francisco CA 17
Santa Ana CA 18
Santa Barbara CA 19
Beverly Hills CA 20
Davis CA 21
Southern California Association of Governments CA 22 *
Maywood CA 23
Cupertino CA 24
Buena Park CA 25
Culver City CA 26
Rialto CA 27
Santa Monica CA 28
Porterville CA 29
Los Angeles CA 30
San Jose CA 31
Monterey CA 32
Glendale CA 33
Irvine CA 34
Oakland CA 35
Palo Alto CA 36
Alameda CA 37
Boulder CO 38
Longmont CO 39
Denver CO 40
Grand Junction CO 41
Loveland CO 42
Stamford CT 43
Simsbury CT 44
South Windsor CT 45
Bridgeport CT 46
Glastonbury CT 47
Hartford CT 48
New Haven CT 49
Norwalk CT 50
Fairfield CT 51
Washington DC 52
Tampa FL 53
St. Petersburg FL 54
Kissimmee FL 55
Longwood FL 56
North Bay Village FL 57
South Miami FL 58
Satellite Beach FL 59
Orlando FL 60
Boca Raton FL 61
Delray Beach FL 62
Sunrise FL 63
Pinecrest FL 64
Key West FL 65
Jacksonville FL 66
Miami-Dade FL 67
Tequesta FL 68
Orange City FL 69
Doral FL 70
Cape Canaveral FL 71
Lauderhill FL 72
Lauderdale Lakes FL 73
West Palm Beach FL 74
Temple Terrace FL 75
Fort Lauderdale FL 76
Hollywood FL 77
Boynton Beach FL 78
Bonita Springs FL 79
Cape Coral FL 80
Melbourne FL 81
Miami FL 82
Miami Beach FL 83
Orange County FL 84
Fort Myers FL 85
Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization FL 86 *
Stuart FL 87
Casselberry FL 88
Stone Mountain GA 89
Columbus GA 90
Atlanta GA 91
Macon GA 92
Kauai County HI 93
Honolulu HI 94
Hawaii County HI 95
Maui County HI 96
Sioux City IA 97
Ames IA 98
Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization IA 99 *
Moscow ID 100
Boise ID 101
Chicago IL 102
Peoria IL 103
South Bend IN 104
Madison IN 105
Indianapolis IN 106
Kansas City KS 107
Lexington KY 108
Frankfort KY 109
Louisville KY 110
New Orleans LA 111
Baton Rouge LA 112
Lafayette LA 113
Newton MA 114
Brockton MA 115
Boston MA 116
Revere MA 117
Somerville MA 118
Frederick MD 119
Baltimore MD 120
Auburn ME 121
Westland MI 122
Jackson MI 123
Flint MI 124
Ann Arbor MI 125
Traverse City MI 126
Detroit MI 127
Pleasant Ridge MI 128
St. Paul MN 129
Fergus Falls MN 130
Kansas City MO 131
Columbia MO 132
St. Louis MO 133
Lee’s Summit MO 134
Wildwood MO 135
Warsaw MO 136
Tupelo MS 137
Hattiesburg MS 138
Columbus MS 139
New Albany MS 140
Gulfport MS 141
Brandon MS 142
Sunflower MS 143
Hernando MS 144
Pelahatchie MS 145
Clinton MS 146
Ridgeland MS 147
Jackson MS 148
Oxford MS 149
Pascagoula MS 150
Starkville MS 151
Cleveland MS 152
Vicksburg MS 153
Missoula MT 154
Carrboro NC 155
Asheville NC 156
Chapel Hill NC 157
Charlotte NC 158
Durham NC 159
Wilson NC 160
Winston-Salem NC 161
Hanover NH 162
Portsmouth NH 163
Manchester NH 164
Princeton NJ 165
Morristown NJ 166
Fort Lee NJ 167
Newark NJ 168
Hoboken NJ 169
Fair Haven NJ 170
Ocean City NJ 171
Lawrence Township NJ 172
Albuquerque NM 173
Henderson NV 174
Las Vegas NV 175
Reno NV 176
Ithaca NY 177
New York NY 178
Great Neck NY 179
Columbus OH 180
Akron OH 181
Marietta OH 182
Parma Heights OH 183
Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency OH 184 *
Dayton OH 185
Oklahoma City OK 186
Portland OR 187
Eugene OR 188
Springfield OR 189
Tualatin OR 190
Milwaukie OR 191
Macungie PA 192
Philadelphia PA 193
Pittsburgh PA 194
Camp Hill PA 195
York PA 196
Erie County PA 197
Providence RI 198
Newport RI 199
Sumter SC 200
Myrtle Beach SC 201
Columbia SC 202
Greenville SC 203
Canton SD 204
Sioux Falls SD 205
Chattanooga TN 206
Memphis TN 207
Nashville TN 208
Knoxville TN 209
Burleson TX 210
Fort Worth TX 211
San Marcos TX 212
Austin TX 213
San Antonio TX 214
Salt Lake City UT 215
Blacksburg VA 216
Richmond VA 217
Alexandria VA 218
Fairfax County VA 219
Arlington VA 220
Rutland VT 221
Burlington VT 222
Kirkland WA 223
Bellevue WA 224
White Salmon WA 225
Seattle WA 226
Wisconsin Rapids WI 227
Madison WI 228
Morgantown WV 229
Jackson/Teton County WY 230

See more at: http://www.transportation.gov/policy-initiatives/ped-bike-safety/mayors-challenge-1-complete-streets#sthash.GDBrjC2u.dpuf

– See more at: http://www.transportation.gov/mayors-challenge#sthash.JUkJLTwy.dpuf



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