Highland Park council endorses revised safety action plan and Vision Zero goal after public survey updates

Highland Park — The City Council voted Monday to approve a revised comprehensive safety action plan and to endorse a Vision Zero goal aimed at reducing traffic deaths and incapacitating injuries.

Council moved to take the item off the table and then approved the revised safety action plan, with a recorded roll call of: Councilman Ashafi (recorded as Eschafe/Eschase) — No; Councilwoman Martin — Yes; Councilwoman Manuka — Yes; Council Pro Tem Robinson — No; Council President Thomas — Yes. The motion carried.

The plan, which was first presented to council in September 2024 and revised after council and public comments, contains data and maps of identified traffic problems across Highland Park. Damon (Garrett) and the engineering/planning staff told council the revised document (dated May 23) incorporated council edits, a public survey run in April 2025 that produced substantially more responses than the original outreach, and prioritized resident concerns. Staff highlighted the public survey findings on pages 40–41: 87% of respondents listed more street lighting as a top priority; 77% called for improved road signs and pavement striping; 58% said lack of sidewalks/crosswalks mattered; and 31% noted intersections and roundabouts.

Council members pressed staff on process questions: why the revised document was not returned to a workshop before the vote, what endorsing Vision Zero specifically commits the city to, and what costs — if any — would fall to the city. Staff said the endorsement signals support for the Vision Zero objective and that the plan is intended as the city’s comprehensive safety-action document; staff also said lighting proposals that residents had discussed were focused on public road safety and that off-grid solar light projects (“solidarity” lights) were not part of the safety-plan grant work.

The council approved the resolution to endorse the plan after an exchange in which members reiterated a desire for clear cost and implementation detail. The vote to bring the item back from the table was made by Councilwoman Manuka and supported by the council chair; the approving motion was also made by Manuka and supported by Councilwoman Martin.

Why it matters: The plan formalizes priorities for street safety investments — lighting, signage, traffic calming and sidewalks — and signals a city-level commitment to Vision Zero principles. Council and staff agreed additional implementation-level steps and cost breakdowns will be necessary before specific projects proceed.

What’s next: Staff said the document will guide programming and capital requests; staff and the consultants will return with implementation steps, cost estimates and any grant or outside funding options for council review.