Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
San Francisco Health Commission backs Vision 0 plan to eliminate traffic deaths
Summary
The San Francisco Department of Public Health and city partners presented data showing concentrated pedestrian and cyclist injuries in a small portion of city streets; the Health Commission unanimously adopted a resolution supporting Vision 0 and multiagency steps including targeted engineering, enforcement, education and data linkage.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health and city transportation and safety partners urged the Health Commission on Tuesday to adopt Vision 0, a 10-year plan aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries.
DPH epidemiologist Megan Weir told the commission that about 100 people are severely injured or killed and roughly 800 people are injured annually as pedestrians in San Francisco, and that seniors face five times the fatality risk of other adults. Weir said data show a concentrated pattern: roughly 6 percent of city streets account for about 60 percent of severe and fatal pedestrian injuries, and Districts 3 and 6 (including South of Market, Chinatown and the Tenderloin) bear disproportional harm.
"We created this high-injury pedestrian network to target where we can most efficiently protect human life," Weir said, urging adoption of a commission resolution in support of Vision 0.
Surgeon Rochelle Dicker of San Francisco General described the medical and public-cost consequences of severe pedestrian trauma and said most of the direct hospital cost for pedestrian injury is borne by public funding. "A lot of people never get their lives back," Dicker said, describing long-term disability and intensive care admissions following severe collisions.
City agencies and community partners outlined a mix of engineering, enforcement, education and evaluation measures. Salida Reynolds of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency described Walk First, a prior corridor-prioritization study that produced a $50 million package of improvements the city would seek to deploy over five years and use as the foundation for 24 projects within 24 months. Commander Mikael Ali of the Police Department reported increased traffic enforcement and said police are working with DPH to improve collision-data capture.
Transportation Authority staff and the mayor—s office said Vision 0 will be supported by funding planning that includes Prop K investment and recommended voter measures; the transportation task force estimates long-term unfunded capital needs and has recommended bond and fee measures as part of a broader revenue strategy.
Commissioners asked about evaluation metrics, future population and traffic changes, school-related safety measures and private-sector engagement. Staff committed to follow-up briefings to the commission and to bring more-detailed project lists and six-month updates from initiative partners.
After discussion, a commissioner moved to accept the resolution supporting Vision 0; the motion was seconded and the commission voted unanimously to adopt the resolution.
The commission requested that DPH and partners return with implementation milestones and evaluation plans and said the new epidemiologist position to link police and hospital data should help measure progress.
