HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/19/2026 Item 6b, Elmschig
Elizabeth Elmschig <elizabeth.elmschig@gmail.com>
Sent:Thursday, May 14,
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Public Comment for City Council Meeting 5/19 Item 6.b 2026 VISION ZERO ACTION
PLAN
5/19 City Council Meeting Public Comment — Item 6.b 2026 Vision Zero Action Plan
Council Members,
I'm writing to offer my strong support for adopting the Vision Zero Action Plan. Its core commitment —
that no loss of life on our streets is acceptable — reflects exactly the values this community holds. The
plan's data-driven approach, its focus on high-injury corridors, and its emphasis on low-stress bicycle
facilities connecting neighborhoods to arterials are all meaningful, well-reasoned steps forward.
I do want to raise one concern — not to slow adoption, but to strengthen implementation.
The plan rightly prioritizes the High Injury Network (HIN) for staffing and funding, and rightfully
acknowledges that some residents face disproportionate risk. Unhoused community members, for
instance, are overrepresented among victims — a sobering and important data point. But there is a
population conspicuously absent from the HIN data: children.
The research is clear. Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children 14 and under, and
the danger is concentrated at a very specific time: nearly one-third of child pedestrian fatalities over the
past decade occurred between 3 and 7 p.m. — precisely during school pickup and after-school hours.
Studies find that most child pedestrian injuries occur around the time of school dismissal, clustering
near schools and bus stops.
Thankfully, most school zones in San Luis Obispo do not fall within the High Injury Network — meaning
our children are not currently being killed or severely injured on these routes in large numbers. That is
good news. But it creates an unintended structural consequence: because school zones are outside the
HIN, they risk being deprioritized for the very improvements that would protect our most vulnerable road
users.
The plan recommends prioritizing low-stress bicycle facilities identified in the Active Transportation Plan
that run parallel to higher-speed arterials. I strongly support this — and urge the Council to explicitly
direct that Safe Routes to School corridors be a top criterion when sequencing those investments.
These low-stress routes aren't just a cycling amenity. For children walking and biking to school during the
most dangerous hours of the day, they are a safety lifeline.
Vision Zero is about protecting everyone. I ask that the plan's implementation reflect that children — who
cannot advocate for themselves in this chamber — are among the most at-risk users of our streets, even
when the crash data doesn't yet show it in our HIN. Let's not wait for the data to get worse before we act.
Thank you,
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Elizabeth Elmschig, MD MPH, community member and concerned parent
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