Bellevue Makes Progress on Vision Zero Action Plan, Seeks Feedback

Near the end of 2015, Bellevue City Council endorsed Vision Zero with a goal of reaching zero traffic deaths and serious injuries by the year 2030. In September, Bellevue started working on a Vision Zero Action Plan. The ultimate goal is to produce a set of strategies, performance indicators, and an implementation matrix with timeframes, costs, and potential funding sources. In other words, the foundation for a set of projects to achieve zero deaths and serious injuries by 2030.

This work will be based on the following core pillars: community engagement, assessment of collision data, coordination with existing policies, and best practices assessment.

Community engagement

• For community stakeholders, Bellevue will hold a public workshop on past Vision Zero successes and solicit input on proposed strategies. The city also has an online questionnaire open for comment through February 11th.
• The transportation commission will carry out regular briefings to ensure continuity through the plan development process. 
• The city council will gauge receptivity of the goals prior to finalizing a report.
  
• Partner agencies will hold two strategy sessions, which include the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
• Bellevue will build upon prior efforts, including an online wikimap of the public’s road safety concerns and personal pledges for safety (like the one below).

Assessment of collision data

• Bellevue plans to leverage collision data from the 2006-2017 timeframe, visualized in map and chart form, to determine roadway characteristics and behavioral factors that contributed to deaths or serious injuries. 
• A publicly accessible Crash Map Portal is already available (as seen below).

• Based on collision data, Bellevue will suggest a proactive, systems-based approach to safety, rather than reacting when something undesirable happens.
  

Coordination with existing policies

• Bellevue will coordinate with road safety strategies in engineering, education, encouragement, evaluation, equity, and enforcement; and
• Leverage police department data reflecting trends in citations issued, photo enforcement (especially before/after enforcement impacts). 

Best practices assessment

• Bellevue will inventory visions, goals, principles, strategies of adopted action plans from other communities.
• The city is particularly interested in “street designs that emphasize safety, predictability, and the potential for human error, coupled with targeted education and data-driven enforcement efforts,” according to the Action Plan Scope of Work.

The final report is due out this summer.