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Council adopts Vision Zero safety action plan and asks staff to pursue federal implementation funds
Summary
The council adopted a Vision Zero traffic-safety action plan identifying roughly $33 million in road and multimodal projects, and directed staff to pursue federal implementation funding including HUD/FHWA opportunities and local match options.
Laredo City Council adopted a Vision Zero safety action plan that lists roughly $33 million in prioritized roadway and multimodal safety projects and directs staff to pursue federal implementation funding.
The plan, prepared for the Webb County–City of Laredo regional partnership, aggregates crash data, identifies high‑risk corridors and outlines both low‑cost interventions and capital projects. A staff presentation described 16 corridor projects (both city and TxDOT segments), with a planning-level total near $33 million; presenters said about $20 million of that list is on TxDOT right-of-way and roughly $10 million is on city streets.
Why it matters: The council and allied agencies earlier adopted a pledge to reach zero traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2040. Council adoption clears the way for the next step: seeking federal FHWA implementation grants. Presenters told the council that federal funds are available for the program and that proposals for implementation grants are due on a specified FY funding cycle (the meeting referenced an implementation grant deadline in late June). The plan includes a capital priority list, complete streets recommendations, school-area safety audits and a rural-bus-stop component intended to protect students traveling to schools outside city limits.
What council approved: The council approved a resolution adopting the Vision Zero safety action plan and asked staff to pursue implementation grants and to identify sources for the required non‑federal match (the grant programs described typically require a nonfederal portion). Staff and partnering agencies noted the Regional Mobility Authority and TxDOT are discussing how much local match each entity could provide; the council did not commit city dollars at the meeting but instructed staff to explore match options and return with funding proposals.
Local public-safety context: Laredo police described declining traffic fatalities compared with the previous year but urged continued infrastructure investment. The police chief said the department is emphasizing data-driven deployments to reduce crashes, and that infrastructure investments make enforcement more effective because physical road changes reduce risky behavior without requiring continuous officer presence.
Next steps: Staff will prepare grant applications, coordinate match discussions with the RMA and TxDOT, finalize school walking-audit deliverables with both local school districts, and return to council with specific funding requests and timelines for project bidding and delivery.
