Advocates urge Vision Zero funding after council hears 2024 traffic‑fatality figures

A presenter identified in the meeting as Damian (representing a traffic‑safety organization) told the council that in 2024 Los Angeles recorded 302 traffic fatalities and Los Angeles County 711 deaths, and urged the council to pair engineering changes with dedicated funding to meet the city’s Vision Zero goals. Damian said the city has the engineering tools to prevent many crashes but lacks sustained investment and programmatic resources.

Councilmembers responded that the city must convert advocacy into budgeted, structural changes. One councilmember noted that Vision Zero’s ten‑year target had not been met and that fatalities had increased in some years; members urged a proactive rather than reactive approach and linked funding to equity concerns for neighborhoods with higher fatality rates.

The presentation included requests for interagency coordination, targeted engineering at high‑fatality intersections and funding to support community‑led safety efforts. No binding appropriation was made at the meeting; councilmembers requested staff follow up in budget discussions.