There's still time. But by any reasonable measure, Los Angeles’ Vision Zero is not looking like a successful endeavor so far.
Early figures show 244 people were killed in traffic collisions on L.A. streets in 2019, representing a drop of just 0.8% compared to the following year. 134 pedestrians died (a large increase) and 19 people were killed on their bikes.
Vision Zero’s goal is to eliminate traffic fatalities on L.A. streets. It was launched in 2015. It’s first benchmark–a 20% reduction in deaths by 2017—has never been met. Needless to say, the goal of reducing half of all deaths by 2020 is unlikely.
The figures are prompting new questions about the city’s efforts so far. Groups are calling for greater crackdowns on texting while driving, as well as reduced speed limits.
“Any life lost on our streets is one too many — and we will continue to pursue our goal of zero traffic deaths until we meet that mark,” Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar said in a statement. The mayor “urges everyone to use our streets as responsibly and safely as possible so that we can save lives together.”