HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/21/2022 Item 2, Finger1
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Helene Finger <helenefinger@gmail.com>
Sent:Wednesday, July 20, 2022 11:28 AM
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:ATC: Traffic Safety Report Item - Need for citywide Safe Routes To School (SRTS) plan
Attachments:Pages from 072122 ATC Agenda Packet.pdf
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Dear Active Transportation Committee members,
The following comments expand on the concept (highlighted in green on the 3rd page of the attached excerpts from the Traffic Safety Report
agenda item) that the “current process..may produce blind spots”. Only looking at where collisions have occurred in the past, misses SRTS that are
not used because they are too unsafe/don’t exist. Additionally, using past collision data creates a bias for confident cyclists on busy roads where
they currently ride rather than creating a low‐stress alternative for the majority of residents who likely will never ride/walk a busy road but would
ride/walk a low‐stress SRTS.
Please ask staff to start work now on a citywide SRTS plan to establish the top ranked locations for bicycle & pedestrian
improvements. While it is easier to use past collision data for creating a project list, this approach does not identify the most needed projects that
will increase safety/mode‐shift in SLO.
Developing a SRTS plan will allow the City to focus on closing the few gaps in SLO’s low‐stress network, and connect routes throughout the city that
are safe and used by everyone, not just those already riding/walking.
Sincerely,
Helene Finger
Active Transportation Committee Agenda Item 2, July 21, 2022 Page 4
The tables below summarize the high-ranking locations for bicycle and pedestrian improvements
identified in the 2018-19 TSR.
Active Transportation Committee Agenda Item 2, July 21, 2022 Page 5
Local and Nationwide Traffic Safety Trends – 2019 to Current
While the focus of the current report is to present the findings of the TSR for calendar years 2018
and 2019, it is important to acknowledge the traffic safety trends occurring locally and nationally
in recent years. Over the 10-year period from 2010 to 2019, there was an average of 1.4 fatal
collisions per year in San Luis Obispo. In the past three years (2019, 2020, 2021), there have
been eight total fatal collisions, an average of 2.7 per year. Of these eight fatal collisions, five
involved pedestrians and two involved bicyclists hit by vehicles.
Active Transportation Committee Agenda Item 2, July 21, 2022 Page 6
This is an alarming trend and not isolated to our city; per the U.S. Department of Transportation,
recently U.S. traffic deaths have surged, including an increase of 12% in the first nine months of
2021 compared to previous years. Total traffic fatalities from 2021 represent the highest number
of fatalities since 2006 and the highest percentage increase over 15 years in the history of the
U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Pedestrians are disproportionately reflected in these
national trends, with the number of people killed while walking increasing by 45% over the last
decade (2010-2019) and the four most recent reporting years representing the deadliest years for
pedestrians since 1990.
A combination of factors appear to be contributing to these trends, including increasing
size/weight of passenger vehicles sold, increases in distracted driving, apparent behavioral
changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and changing priorities about law enforcement
priorities and changing viewpoints towards police contact about routine traffic violations.
More specifically, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, while
vehicle miles traveled and traffic congestion were down in 2020 and into 2021, the drivers who
remained on the roads tended to engage in riskier behavior. In general, motorists tended to drive
at a higher rate of speed, demonstrated higher disregard for the safety of others, and appeared
less concerned about the risk of getting ticketed by law enforcement, as many law enforcement
agencies were impacted by staffing challenges and/or were less likely to engage in direct contact
with the public due to health/safety concerns.
There needs to be a strategy to reverse these trends or otherwise they will normalize in coming
years and potentially reverse years of progress. This data further highlights the need for this City
and other communities throughout the U.S. to increase focus on systematic safety improvements
proven to reduce and eliminate fatal collisions from occurring. Investments in street designs,
policies that reduce high-end auto speeds, enforcement, increases in physical protection and
availability of safe crossings for bicyclists and pedestrians have been shown to result in positive
improvements for all road users.
Focusing on Vision Zero –Upcoming Refinements to TSR Procedures
While the City’s Traffic Safety Program and corresponding Annual TSR have proven effective at
reducing overall collisions citywide since the inception of the Program, the TSR analysis and
reporting process could use refinements to better align with the City’s Vision Zero goals and the
nationwide best practices in reducing and eliminating severe injuries and deaths on our streets.
While the content in the City’s Annual TSR has expanded over the years to include more focus
on collisions involving vulnerable users (pedestrians and cyclists), and some limited
systematic/preventative safety analysis has been incorporated in the past few years, TSR
analysis approach and mitigation recommendations treat all collisions with a similar level of
attention and importance, and predominantly results in reactive solutions, rather than proactive
preventative measures.
In addition, the current process of preparing a comprehensive Annual TSR primarily using data
from a single calendar year may produce data blind spots, as year-to-year traffic patterns and
collisions can fluctuate with some randomness. Studies have shown that all locations have a
baseline risk of traffic collisions based on physical factors present at the location, and the
inherent behavior of drivers on roadways. The current report is unable to determine if a
location’s collision pattern is higher or lower than this mean collision pattern. Under the current
TSR procedures, a certain intersection may rank high and receive focused analysis due to a
random spike in minor collisions, while another intersection may never reach a high rank if
Active Transportation Committee Agenda Item 2, July 21, 2022 Page 7
overall collision totals remain low, despite an ongoing pattern of severe injury collisions over
several years.
Further, the current process of producing a comprehensive annual report requires significant staff
time (several months of analysis/preparation each year), which leaves less time and resources
to focus on implementing the safety improvements recommended in each report.
For these reasons, staff will be making several procedural changes to the Traffic Safety Report
analysis and reporting process to improve focus and efficiency of the program to support the
Vision Zero goal of eliminating severe injury and fatal collisions. The changes include the
following:
1. Reporting Cycle: Transitioning from a comprehensive report every two years to a
comprehensive report every five years but with fact sheets published annually
showing overall trends and status of safety project implementation
2. Method for Ranking High Collision Locations: Transitioning from ranking based
on total collision rate (# of collisions per vehicle volume served) to a weighted
ranking factor system, applying more weight to locations with injuries and
fatalities
3. Systematic Safety Analysis: Transitioning from a mostly reactive analysis of
previous collision trends to more focus on systematic safety analysis, identifying
common factors and street design characteristics related to injury and fatal
collisions as well as a greater emphasis on proactive strategies such as corridor-
wide street design measures to reduce vehicle speeds and conflicts with
vulnerable users
Active Transportation Plan
The TSR has a direct relationship to the priority actions listed under the Safety Goal of the
Active Transportation Plan (See Attachment B). This includes on-going priorities such as
continuing the Vision Zero policies and safety programs of the City (the TSR implements this
priority action). It includes implementation of the City’s streetlight installation program as well
as using innovative designs to lower traffic speeds and public outreach activities on safety. In
addition, in the fall of 2022, the City will begin the community engagement process for the
upcoming FY 2023-25 Financial Plan. As part of that effort, staff will provide an update on the
monitoring and evaluation of the Active Transportation Plan performance measures (including
the safety benchmark) and present it to the ATC for input.
Questions the Committee May Want to Consider for Discussion
In order to help facilitate discussion and input on this item, the committee may want to consider
the following questions:
1. Does the committee have any questions about the methodology of the TSR especially
regarding how the top ranked locations for bicycle and pedestrian improvements were
identified?
2. Does the committee have any questions or input on the mitigations to the top ranked
collision locations?
Active Transportation Committee Agenda Item 2, July 21, 2022 Page 8
3. Of the top locations identified for bicycle and pedestrian improvements, are there ones
the committee would like to highlight so that staff can look for additional opportunities
for focused improvement?
4. Are there any questions or comments about the relationship of the TSR and its
relationship to the Safety Goal of the Active Transportation Plan?
The committee may have other questions or comments they may wish to present to staff.
Recommendation:
Receive a report on the 2018 & 2019 Traffic Safety Report and provide comment as it relates to
bicycle and pedestrian transportation.
Attachments
A – 2018 & 2019 Traffic Safety Report
B - Excerpt from the Active Transportation Plan