City auditor finds equity priority communities receive similar or higher access to some traffic safety services; auditors recommend targeted school outreach and

The City Auditor presented a review Aug. 26 of access to San Jose traffic safety programs, focusing on whether traditionally marginalized communities receive comparable services. The audit concluded that equity priority communities generally received the same or higher levels of some traffic safety services — notably quick‑build Vision Zero projects — but identified gaps in school program outreach and language access.

Auditor Joe Royce told the council the audit used two equity lenses — the city’s own Equity Atlas and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s equity priority communities — and found that quick‑build projects and certain pedestrian enhancements were disproportionately located in equity priority areas. However, the report identified that school traffic safety services such as crossing guards and walk‑and‑roll programming were less consistently distributed; fewer schools in equity priority tracts participated than expected. The audit recommended proactive outreach to schools, improved cross‑departmental coordination on crossing guard requests, and translation of online forms and toolkits (the Police Department’s enforcement request form and the DOT Traffic Calming Toolkit were cited as English‑only).

DOT Director John Ristau and school‑safety PD staff agreed with recommendations. Ristau told the council DOT will pursue targeted outreach and leverage city-school collaborative channels to boost participation, and said staffing and school capacity are leading constraints. Police and DOT said they will translate key web resources and revisit crossing-guard placement and waitlist processes.

Council accepted the audit and asked staff to return with an implementation timeline for the recommendations. Public commenters supported prioritized school outreach, and some urged accelerating work to serve schools affected by closures and changed traffic patterns.

Actions - kind: other motion: "Accept the Audit: 'Access to and use of the city's traffic safety programs by traditionally marginalized communities' and direct Transportation and Police Departments to implement the recommendations and report back on outreach plans and translated resources." mover: "Councilmember Campos" second: "Councilmember Cohen" vote_record: [{member:"Councilmember Campos",vote:"yes"},{member:"Councilmember Cohen",vote:"yes"}] tally: {yes:10,no:0,abstain:0} outcome: "accepted" notes: "Departments to translate online resources, expand proactive school outreach and coordinate crossing-guard requests; staff to return with timeline."

Speakers - {"name":"Joe Royce","role_title":"City Auditor","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"City Auditor's Office","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:12:24","transcript_line_range":[4504,4545]}} - {"name":"John Ristau","role_title":"Director of Transportation","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Department of Transportation","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:12:38","transcript_line_range":[4814,4850]}} - {"name":"Jordan Moldau","role_title":"Public commenter","affiliation_type":"citizen","affiliation_name":"not specified","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:13:30","transcript_line_range":[8093,8138]}}

Authorities - {"type":"policy","name":"Division 0 20 25 Vision Zero prioritization language (San Jose)","citation":"not specified","referenced_by":["traffic-safety-audit"]}

Clarifying_details - {"category":"quick_build_projects","detail":"Equity priority communities received a greater number of quick-build safety projects compared with other communities","source_speaker":"Joe Royce"} - {"category":"school_programs_gap","detail":"Slightly fewer schools in equity priority communities participated in walk-and-roll and crossing guard programs than expected; staffing and qualification criteria affect placement","source_speaker":"Joe Royce"}

proper_names:[{"name":"San Jose Equity Atlas","type":"other"},{"name":"Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)","type":"agency"}], searchable_tags:["traffic safety audit","Vision Zero","equity"], meeting_context:{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":8,"duration_minutes":50,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"low","history":[{"date":"2023-03-01","note":"Mayor's 2023 budget message requested audits of access to critical services by traditionally marginalized communities"}]}