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Palm Desert adopts Vision Zero strategy to target traffic deaths and injuries
Summary
City council voted unanimously to adopt the federally funded Vision Zero strategy, directing staff to seek an implementation grant to fund infrastructure and programmatic safety work around schools and high-injury corridors.
The Palm Desert City Council on June 12 voted 5-0 to adopt the Palm Desert Vision Zero strategy, a planning package developed with Alta Planning and Design that aims to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries through street redesigns, education and targeted investments.
The strategy, funded and developed under the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All planning grant (SS4A), bundles a safe routes-to-school plan covering eight schools, a safe-routes-for-older-adults plan for three senior-focused areas, prioritized infrastructure investment strategies and a public outreach campaign. Staff said adopting the plan makes the city eligible to apply for a competitive federal implementation grant and directs staff to pursue projects and programs outlined in the plan.
City staff and consultant Alta Planning and Design presented the final strategy after a study session in April. The plan identifies a “high injury network” of local streets (about 8 percent of street mileage) responsible for a disproportionate share of collisions. The recommended implementation package on the council’s draft grant list includes curb ramps, sidewalk infill, high-visibility crosswalk striping, pedestrian-scale lighting, and driver-feedback signage at 24 locations the staff packet lists as priorities for an upcoming federal application.
Public works Senior Project Manager Chris Gary told the council the planning deliverables are now complete and the city can apply for federal construction and programmatic grants. Staff’s preliminary implementation estimate in the packet was about $3.7 million; staff said cost estimates will be refined ahead of grant submission. Council members emphasized interest in demonstration projects before making permanent changes on arterial lanes and in piloting pedestrian crossing treatments.
Councilmember comments stressed the prominence of speeding as a primary factor in serious collisions near schools and in the community’s high-injury network. Council members asked that the city include community engagement and demonstration projects for lane-narrowing and other roadway reconfigurations before full implementation.
Mayor Harnick and others said adopting the plan will open additional state and federal funding opportunities and give the city a stronger position to pursue implementation grants during upcoming funding cycles. City staff indicated the grant cycle deadline is June 26 and the city will finalize the application within two weeks; results are expected between November and January.
The council’s unanimous vote adopted the strategy and authorized staff to proceed with grant preparation and recommended next steps for implementing the plan.
