Vision Zero Houston Report

8/20/2019 Vision Zero Houston Report

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CONTENTS

1 Executive Summary

3 Background and Impetus

5 What is Vision Zero andHow Does it Work?

23 Getting Started and Recommendations

25 Appendix I: Possible Action Steps

33 Appendix II: Other Cities’ Vision Zero Plans

34 Appendix II: Additional Resources

Vision Zero: Toward a Vision Zero Action Plan for the City of HoustonA Houston Tomorrow Department of Transportation report

January 14, 2016

Co-AuthorsRishi Aggarwal, MPP

Jay Blazek Crossley, MPAffCaitlin McNeely

Patrick O’Mahen, PhD

PhotographsJay Blazek Crossley

Christof Spieler

ContributorsDavid CrossleyJohn Guttman

Jordan PettigrewKay Warhol

Jane Cahill West


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Vision Zero ity of Houston, 2014:

0,472otal crashes

222capacitating

juries

27otal trafc deaths

Core steps toward aVision Zero Action Plan

• The City of Houston should lead the regional ef -fort to adopt a Vision Zero goal to reach zero trafcdeaths and serious injuries within a decade.

• The City should create a Vision Zero Task Forcewith multiple departments and outside partners.

• The Vision Zero Task Force should produce an ini-tial Vision Zero Action Plan within 60 or 90 days.

• Mayor and City Council should aggressively pur-sue ordinance and funding changes this year.

• Various City Departments should identify and pur-sue short and long term strategies.

13-County Houstonregion, 2014:

135,170Total crashes

3,468Incapacitating

injuries

667Total trafc deaths

What could a Vision Zero Plan d

• Commit and unify leadership across the regiopublicly seek a safer Houston together.

• Redesign streets and efciently invest in puttsafer designs on the ground.

• Change codes to outlaw dangerous behaviodriving while using a handheld device.

• Reduce speed limits, match design speed to limits, and seek matching policy across region

• Introduce new enforcement, messaging & edtion strategies.

• Analyze data and create broad understandincauses of deaths and injuries.

• Strengthen long term strategies like completstreets, walkable urbanism, and balanced fund

• Decrease vehicle miles traveled across the re

• Invest in sidewalks.

Maps from http://www.city-data.com/accidents/.

Statistics culled from TXDOT data, available here:http://www.txdot.gov/government/enforcement/annual-summary.html

The goal is elimination of all trafc fatalities and serious injuries throua comprehensive approach to making streets safer and reducing crasMost large cities not doing so already are in the process of considerin


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oughly theame number (227)f Houstonians diedn the streets of the

City as theumber (239) of

murder victims in014.

Background and Impetus(or Why We Need a Vision ZeroAction Plan)

Almost as many people die on the streets of the City of Houstonas are murdered each year. Our response to this shocking statis-tic should be simple: We must treat trafc deaths in the Houstonregion as seriously as we treat homicide, as a major public healthand security crisis. Whatever their neighborhood and whatevertheir mode of transport – car, bus, bicycle, wheelchair or on foot –all Houstonians deserve safe access to the streets.

Recent studies support the need for safer streets for all users.According to the National Complete Streets Coalition of SmartGrowth America, Houston is the seventh most likely city in thecountry for a pedestrian to be hit and killed by a vehicle1. Hous-ton has also been categorized as the worst city in the country forred-light-running deaths by the National Coalition for RoadSafety2. Between 2004 and 2013, there have been 181 red-light-running fatalities in Houston, 50% more than Phoenix, the nextcity on the list. If Houston is to move toward being more livable(Houston was recently ranked as the 52nd most livable city in theU.S. by WalletHub3), we must improve these devastating statistics.

Part of the problem stems from culture that embraces dangerousdriving and a lack of enforcement. However, the built environ-ment contributes to safety problems, and exacerbates bad be-havior while crippling enforcement efforts. Unnecessarily widelanes facilitate fast, dangerous driving and place all road users at

Dangerous by Design 2014.” Smart Growth America. National Complete Streets Coalition. May014.

Houston Worst City in America for Running Red Lights”. Theran Nicholas. http://m.ktrh.com/rticles/houston-news-121300/houston-worst-city-in-america-for-13829412/ Incidentally, despiteaving 50 percent more deaths, Houston is only about 33 percent more populated than Phoenix.

risk, including motorists. A shortage of properly designed walks, badly maintained sidewalks and a general lack of band pedestrian infrastructure increase risks for the most vuble users, as well as transit riders waiting for the bus or tra

Poorly designed infrastructure that overemphasizes movincles quickly contributes to economic and health problemsas safety concerns. Dangerous roads cut foot trafc, whichsmall businesses and neighborhood life by limiting accesstural amenities. Overreliance on cars also increases pollutreduces physical activity, which has negative and costly effpublic health and the environment.

We must do better. And we can.

3 “2015’s Best and Worst Large Cities to Live in.” Richie Bernardo. http://wallethub.com/eduworst-large-cities-to-live-in/14358/#main-ndings

Vision Zero does not discriminate based on how you choose to getaround. We want people riding in cars to be safe. We want everyone be able to ride their bike to work safely. We want people walking arotown without risk of losing their life or someone they love.


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he City of Houston adopted a

hilosophy of Complete Streetsollowing

Mayor Annise

arker’sxecutive Order,ut the newdministration willversee the

ealization of his visionn everyeighborhood.

A philosophy of designing streetsto prioritize the safety and comfortof all, regardless of age, ability, ormode of transport.

We can have streets that fulll a d iversity of needs, while priori-

tizing the safety and comfort of all users. For too long, the streetsof the Houston region have been designed by engineers whowere asked the wrong questions. We have designed perhaps theworld’s most remarkable region - for cars.

Instead we can spend the next decade d esigning Houston sothat when people are walking, biking, and driving cars, losingtheir life isn’t a consequence. We have the smartest engineers inthe world and they simply need to be asked the right questions.

ayor Annise Parker’s November 1, 2013 Complete Streets Executive Order:tp://www.houstontx.gov/planning/docs_pdfs/Exec_Order_Complete_Streets.pdf

nd out more about the Houston Coalition for Complete Streets at:tp://www.houstoncompletestreets.org

The properdeployment of Complete Streetsacross Houston willbe moreaffordable

for both the cityitself and theaverage familythan our previousphilosophy,which calledfor too many lane-miles and lanes thatare too wide.

It is possible to design streets in a manner that every persodrives at safe speeds without thinking about it. Much of thcan be achieved with simple elements like planting street painting narrower lanes, and designing intersections with ments such as bulbouts.

Using this concept, the Neighborhood Greenways approacould bring safe streets to every super neighborhood withative quickness compared to the long task ahead of rebui

all of our major thoroughfares across town. We would carva grid network of neighborhood streets that already have car trafc and simply make those streets as safe as possibldesigned for speeds lower than 25 mph.

When every single ReBuild Houston and CIP pris a Complete Streets project, every neighborhwill nd it nicer to walk, easier to bike, and safbe in a car as each year passes.

If a car hits a vulnerable road user while going 20 miles pethe person who is struck will have a 95% chance of survivincrash. Raise the speed to just 40 mph and the person will 80% likelihood of dying.

We can design a city where driving at safe speeds is the decomfortable choice. We can ask our engineers how to accmodate all of our needs in a system that does not require sacrice from another Houston family.

Complete Streets

The Houston Neighborhood Greenways Proposal:http://www.houstontomorrow.org/initiatives/story/the-houston-neighborhood-greenways-prop

The City of Houston Complete Streets landing page:http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/CompleteStreets


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All Texas transportationatalities by unit - 2014he vast majority of deaths are people in motorhicles (82%), followed by pedestrians (8%), people

ding in trailers (8%), and people riding bicycles (1%)

Houston region alcoholrelated fatalities - 2014More than a third of the deaths on the streets of theHouston region involve drunk driving, despite all ofthe noble efforts to reduce it. Many public policiesencourage drunk driving, like parking requirements atbars and lack of 24 hour BCycle check outs.

W o r k Z o

n e

D i s t r a c t e d D r i v i n g

C o m m e r c i a l V e h i c l e

S p e e d I n v o l v e d

A l c o h o l R e l a t e d

P e d e s t r i a n

Contributing Factorsin the Houston region’s trafc fatalities - 2014Of the 667 deaths in the Houston region in 2014, 247 of them involved alcohol, the largest single contrfactor other than the involvement of a private motor vehicle - which are involved in most deaths. These shown below are not mutually exclusive. A pedestrian death may have also involved alcohol and distracdriving, for example. Perhaps less well known is the fact that speed kills almost two hundred people in Houston region each year, and this factor is the most directly a result of choices in street design.

Annual VMT'sper Household

by Block Group

Legend

Bodies of Water

13541 - 16489

16490 - 18446

18447 - 20058

20059 - 21529

21530 - 22988

22989 - 24403

24404 - 25747

25748 - 27259

27260 - 29226

29227 - 33707

I

0 10 20 305Miles

This map shows the average AnnualVehicle Miles Traveled for a householdwith the regional median income andaverage household size and number

of commuters for the region.


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Many majorities in the U.S.ave adopted

Vision Zerolans as wellnd have had

uccess improvinghe safety andvability ofheir streets.

The concept was originally deployed nationally in Sweden in1997, and succeeded in reducing trafc death from 541 deathsannually to 314 by 2011. Based on this success, the concept hasspread to a wide variety of major cities across the globe, includ-ing London and Montreal4.

Many major cities in the U.S. have adopted Vision Zero plans aswell and have had success dramatically improving the safety andlivability of their streets. These cities include locations in both theFrost Belt and the Sun Belt, and cities from liberal andconservative regions. New York, Portland and Seattle haveadopted Vision Zero Plans, but San Diego and San Antonio haveas well. Los Angeles, another “car city”, is 30% safer than Houstonand has a plan to eliminate trafc fatalities by 2025.

The success that the initiative has had in a wide variety of citiessuggests it can be applied in Houston to drastically improve oursafety problems and annually prevent hundreds of deaths andthousands of serious injuries.

Vision Zero Concept.” http://www.visionzeroinitiative.com/en/Concept/

Vision ZeroHow Does Vision Zero Work?

Vision Zero sets a goal of reducing trafc deaths to zero over a number of years, usually a deTo achieve this goal, a city develops a comprehensive plan to gain leverage on the problemwide variety of perspectives to keep all road users safe.

Vision Zero is an approach to road safety that can besummarized in one sentence: No loss of life is acceptable.

Proper metrics of safety

and usage, which accuratelyidentify problem areas andtrack progress toward pro-gram goals.

Education and

enforcement ofexisting policiesand laws.

Introducing newpolicies and laws and en-hancing existing ones tomake conditionssafer.

Re-examining theunderlying builtenvironment andtaking steps toreconstruct it tomeet the safetyneeds of all users.

1 2

3 4

The mix of actions implemented to achieve Vision Zero will vary by city depending on its ind

circumstances and the wishes of its population. However, each plan will need to have four stgies from four separate arenas to be successful.


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Proper metrics lay a critical foundation. It’s difcult tocut down on the number of road deaths and injurieswithout accurate reports of how many there are. Usefulmeasurements will also detail where and when deathstake place and other pertinent information like weath-er conditions, whether or not speeding, red-light run-ning or alcohol played a factor. Other statistics includethings like the usage and management of parking5,

which takes up large amounts of space and often priv-ileges drivers over other users for space. Geographicanalysis can also reveal details like variance in trafccrashes across differing densities, demographics, anddesign of neighborhoods.

Educating current road users and improvingenforcement of existing laws promotes safe practicesfor driving a car, riding a bike, or walking the streets.The most effective of these efforts crack down on drunkdriving and motorists who speed and fail to yield, ratherthan on targeting pedestrians and cyclists. Educationcampaigns focused on trafc safety should emphasizethat trafc deaths and injuries are preventable boththrough personal responsibility and shared communitygoals and policies.

1

2

Rice Village Parking Study.” Kyle Shelton. Kinder Institute for Urban Research. https://kinder.rice.du/uploadedFiles/Urban_Research_Center/Publications/Parking%20Presentation.6.12.15-2.pdf

he Vision Zero Network recommends including nine key components for a strong Vision Zeroommittment. We agree and have integrated these components throughout our report:tp://visionzeronetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/VZ-Components-Fact-Sheet.pdf

Vision Zero StrategiesNew policies and laws can allow us to tune our comunity to our shared priorities, making it safer for adrive, walk, bike and ride transit. We can set standafor what all Houstonians can expect from their streeIntroducing or enhancing local laws that crack dowdangerous driving habits like driving while distractecreate safer conditions for everyone, as do steps liklowering speed limits and matching street design t

actual speed limit. These laws will have to crafted inuitable manners that do not allow for unintended csequences, such as racial proling, and do not hindour free market and ability to share in the many richof Houston.

Re-examining the built environment is a key partany Vision Zero plan - to step back and consider thefundamental design of our city. Most Houstonians wthey did not have to drive so much. However much can facilitite use of the less dangerous modes of trawe can make Houston safer and give people the lifestyle they want. If we design roads correctly to matcneighborhood needs, drivers naturally slow down,which again lowers risks to pedestrians and vehicleriders. Providing adequate sidewalks, crosswalks, saintersections and well-designed bicycle lanes also d

creases unsafe actions by pedestrians and cyclists bmaking their actions more predictable.

Note that these improvements in laws, enforcement and urban design can have positive effethat ripple beyond reducing the death and injury rate from crashes. Better designed streets housing encourage walking and biking. This improves public health by increasing physical aand cutting pollution. Improved mass transit systems and b etter designed housing developkeep transportation affordable for all Houstonians while improving access and supporting lobusinesses.

3

4


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While manyurport that

ower deaths perVehicle Miles

raveled showsrogress in our

echnologicalrowess over

oad deaths, thistatistic ignores thectual number ofeople dying onur roads.

Metrics:Human-Based Crash Statistics

Many involved in advocating for freeway subsidies prefer to usea certain statistic to assess the safety of our roads - deaths orcrashes per vehicle miles traveled (VMT). This is a mistake andthis mistake has caused decades of over-investment in new roadsacross the United States and encouragement of increased vehi-

cle miles traveled. While many purport that lower deaths / VMTshows progress in our technological prowess over road deaths,this statistic ignores the actual number of people dying on ourroads.

A human-centric statistic of deaths per capita reveals a differentpicture.

A simplistic example: a city has 100 people who each drive20,000 miles each year. Every year 20 people die. This wouldyield of a rate of 1 death/million VMT.

Suppose half of those people are able to reduce their drivingby 10,000 miles annually by moving to walkable neighborhoodswith ample transit access, but still 20 people died. This wouldindicate that the new rate is 1.3 deaths per million VMT, but hasthe city actually become more d angerous?

Suppose when half of those people move to walkable neighbor-hoods, safety benets accrue and only 15 people die per year.This would indicate that the new rate is still 1 death per million

VMT. According to a death/VMT metric, no safety benets aredemonstrated over the rst scenario. However, the city has actu-

ally become safer, as fewer deaths have occurred.

his section details one in-depth example from each of the four strategies to be utilized in a plan.We recognize that there are hundreds of policies out there, but we include these to illustrate the

pe of thinking useful to analyze the problems that Vision Zero confronts.1

The primaryconcern should betotal fatalities andinjuries percapita. This isnormally shown as

per 100,000 people,which is a standardthat agencies likethe Centersfor DiseaseControl use.

Moving away from a vehicle-based metricto a human-based metric changes the view sigcantly.

If we use deaths per capita – which matters most to esh-ablood people - the rst and second scenario would yield aof 0.2 deaths per capita. The third, however, would reveal of 0.15, because it is actually the scenario where it is safesa human.

The City of Houston Vision Zero Task Force should use a dof statistics and methods for understanding the phenomeof road violence. However, the primary concern should befatalities and injuries per capita. This is normally shown as 100,000 people, which is a standard that agencies like theters for Disease Control use. We must know how dangeroufor the people of the Houston region and seek to make it s

for them.

Examples of Strategies 1 - 4


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here has beengreater thanoubling ofrashes atntersectionsormerlyrotected by

ed light cameras.

Enforcement and Education:

Red Light Violations

It is already illegal to drive through red lights, but Houston hasbeen categorized as the worst city in the country for red-lightrunning deaths by the National Coalition for Safer Roads. From2004 to 2013, there have been 181 red-light-running fatalities inHouston, 50% more than Phoenix, the next city on the list 6. As partof Vision Zero, Houston must work to rectify this deadly problem.

Houston Police Department statistics of crash data during andafter use of red light cameras present a stark example of how citypolicies can affect Houstonians lives, with a greater than dou-bling of crashes at intersections formerly protected by red lightcameras before the vote to make streets more dangerous.

We understand that there has been previous opposition to red

light cameras in the City of Houston despite the clear positiveeffects they have had on reducing crashes.

Houston Worst City in America for Running Red Lights”. Theran Nicholas.tp://m.ktrh.com/articles/houston-news-121300/houston-worst-city-in-america-for-13829412/

Red-Light Running Fatality Map.” National Coalition for Safer Roads. http://ncsrsafety.org/stop-n-red/#Map2

There are anumber ofenforcementand educationtools thatHouston can

use to crackdown on red-light runningwhile moreefciently usingpolice forces.

However, there are a number of enforcement andeducation tools that Houston can use to crack down on rerunning while more efciently using police forces.

One potential education/enforcement initiative isimplementing an annual, or quarterly “Red-Light” week emsizing the need for motorists to obey trafc signals. A pubeducation campaign might consist of public-service annouments, asking for news media coverage and leaet handomajor public gatherings. Red-Light week would also consan enforcement heightened police presence at known higintersections throughout the city.

Other tactics include adjustments to intersections and lighshame red-light runners and ease enforcement. For examWaco, TX has implemented so called “tattletale lights” on tback of stoplights which ash blue when the light turns redlowing police ofcers to see the changing of the lights frodirection7. Another possible enforcement mechanism is soemanating from a trafc light that activates when someonenores the signal.

Both of these tactics have educational and enforcement cnents. First, each alerts violators that they have run a red ligWhether through inducing shame or heightening vigilancmay decrease red-light running. Each device also eases laforcement. The lights would be visible from any direction ing that one police ofcer could effectively patrol an inters(permitting more total patrols). The sound could also alertnearby ofcer to a red-light runner. Both devices could alsequipped with time-stamps, introducing an element of acability to a trafc stop for running a red light as well.

7 “Council greenlights enforcement devices, passes up red-light cameras.” Smith, J.B. Wacobune-Herald. http://www.wacotrib.com/news/city_of_waco/council-greenlights-enforcemevices-passes-up-red-light-cameras/article_de24f57e-52d8-530b-b944-d86e929525e6.html?mode=jqm


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exting whileriving doubles

he time itakes for aerson to react

o sudden street

ccurences,onger than theeaction timef a drunk driver.

New Legislation:A ban on using handheldelectronic devices while driving

According to recent research by the Texas A&M TransportationInstitute, texting while driving doubles the time it takes for a

person to react to sudden street occurences, longer than the re -action time of a drunk driver8. People are 11 times more likely tomiss a ashing stoplight and are less able to maintain their car’sposition or a constant speed within their lane when driving dis-tracted. And it isn’t just texting - if it’s GPS, music, or somethingelse, driving while actually doing something else is a problem.

These dangerous habits caused 483 deaths and 3,219 incapaci-tating injuries in the state of Texas in 2014, and 14,097 crashes in2014 in Harris County alone9. As our dependence on electronicdevices and the speed of life increases along with trafc deathsand injuries, we need new rules that tackle o ur new problemsand save Houstonians’ lives.

A statewide ban on texting while driving in school zones is al-ready in effect in Texas. However, a proactive policy for the Cityof Houston would be to pass a ban on using handheld electronicdevices while driving in the whole city.

New Study Says Texting Doubles a Driver’s Reaction Time.” Texas A&M Transportation Institute.tp://tti.tamu.edu/2011/10/05/new-study-says-texting-doubles-a-driver’s-reaction-time/

Distracted Driver Crashes and Injuries b y County.” TxDOT Crash Statistics 2014.tp://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot/trf/crash-statistics/2014/31.pdf 3

As ourdependenceon electronicdevices and thespeed of lifeincreases along

with trafc deathsand injuries,we need new rulesthat tackle ournew problemsand saveHoustonians’ lives.

The cost of enforcing citywide ban on driving while using held electronic devices would actually be far cheaper thanforcing the less stringent existing state ban on texting in sczones because of the signage requirement. With a compresive city-wide ban, Houston would merely have to install sthe city limits. In contrast, enforcing the existing schools-owould involve putting up or replacing signs around each ohundreds of private and public schools located within Houfar greater expense.”

As a result, a comprehensive ban will help our city in threeFirst, we can efciently leapfrog the 5-15 years that other chave taken to get to a full handheld device ban by simply ing a single comprehensive ordinance. Second, we can samountains of money in signage costs. And nally and mosportantly, we will make the environment safer for all Houst

A major public awareness campaign coupled with enforceis what will make this ordinance effective. This effort coulduntertaken across all platforms and could include trafc-sarelated demonstrations, vehicle wraps and leaets insertedmunicipal mailings.

As with any law, we must ensure our police ofcers enforclaw across demographics and without racial proling.


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Half of theeople of the

City of Houstonwould like to liven a walkablerban neighbor-

ood10

, but onlyetween 5 and 10%f our housingtock could beonsidered such.

The Built Environment:Using the MXD model formeaningful trafc impact analysisof urban projects

Many City of Houston policies encourage sprawl development

and discourage walkable urbanism, such as the Institute of TrafcEngineers (ITE) trafc impact analysis process for urban projects.The ITE method poorly estimates trip-generation for dense devel -opments, exaggerating likely auto trips and undercounting transit,biking and walking trips, nor is it applied to single family home de -velopments, which when not simply replacing pre-existing homesactually have a much greater impact on trafc than dense projects.

A reasonable City of Houston policy could begin to legalizeurbanism and support equitable mixed-use mixed-income tran-sit-oriented development by adopting the MXD method foranalyzing trafc impact of urban projects and requiring trafc im-pact analyses of single family housing developments in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).

The MXD model, developed by the Environmental ProtectionAgency, Institute of Transportation Engineers and a dreamteam of land-use and transportation researchers, estimates thetrip-generation impact and benets of mixed-use developmentsmuch more accurately than the currently used ITE model11.

The MXD model more adequately accounts for the internal cap-ture and external trip modes of compact development, mix of

“34th Annual Kinder Houston Area Survey.” Kinder Institute for Urban Research. https://kinder.ce.edu/uploadedFiles/Urban_Research_Center/News/Kinder_Report_2015_lowres.pdf 4

uses, site design, walkability and transit than ITE and has sthat the trafc impact of most dense developments is a fraof that generated by single-use suburban developments olar size and composition.

Half of the people of the City of Houston would like to live in walkable urban neighborhood, but only between 5 and 10%our housing stock could be considered such. Policies that wilthe market to begin providing for millions of Houstonians to greater access while driving substantially less are required in

range attempt to bring trafc deaths to zero and reduce all cr

11 “Trafc Generated by MXD: New Prediction Methods Ahead.” Reid Ewing, Planning: The Magof the American Planning Association, April 2011. http://www.arch.utah.edu/cgi-bin/wordpresroresearch/wp-content/uploads/2012/publications/researchyoucanuse/Research_Apr11.pdf

“Mixed Use Trip Generation Model.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. http://wepa.gov/smartgrowth/mixed-use-trip-generation-model


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rograms likeeBuild Houston and

CIPepair roadsnd improverainage.

ut they couldlso redesign streetso addidewalks andike lanes,nd to createetter transit stopsased on a

Complete Streetshilosophy.

Some specic positive steps takenduring the last six years:

• Mayor Parker’s Complete Streets Executive Orderset the stage for development of a Complete StreetsTransportation Plan and signicant revisions to theInfrastructure Design Manual which now references

Complete Streets and Context Sensitive design.

• Mayor Parker initiated an on-going effort to up-date the City of Houston’s Bike Plan.

• Codication of a Safe Passing Ordinance moti-vated the Houston Police Department to undertakeefforts to educate the public on sharing roadways.

• The City of Houston Planning and DevelopmentDepartment and Public Works and Engineering De-partment have worked together to perform MobilityStudies such as the Inner West Loop Mobility Studywhich recognize the need for safe streets elements.

• Success at Metro evidenced by the New Bus Net-work, increased transparency, and completion of

the most successful modern light rail line in the na-tion when measured in terms of riders per mile.

Loss of lifefrom trafccrashes isunacceptable -andeminently

preventable.

EmbracingVision Zero gives usa clear goaland will help usdevelop aHouston-specic plan

to get there.

We urge Mayor Turner to continue and build upon these acments of the last six years by creating a task force to develoVision Zero Action Plan that not only continues Mayor ParkeComplete Streets Executive Order, but codies it, that not oishes the Complete Streets Transportation Plan and the Bikebut also funds them, and that not only recognizes but requistreets elements for all new street construction projects.

The task force should:

• Include high ranking members from city departmeneeded to implement the program, as well as comm

stakeholders representing the interests of all Housto

• Report back with an initial plan within 90 days an

create a comprehensive plan update each year.

• Include clear, concrete short and long-term step

achieve the Vision Zero goal, and establish respon

ty for each goal, timelines, and performance metr

• Facilitate interaction between key participants a

public to prevent siloing or working at cross purpo

• Undertake a transparent process to review the p

annually to track progress, hold participants accou

able and adjust goals or tactics as necessary.

• Commit to an equitable approach and equitablecomes with inclusive and representative process t

benchmarks and measures safe transportation opfor all road users in all parts of the City.

Getting Started and Recommendations


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Appendix I: Possible Action Steps

hese possible action steps show the breadth of strategies that the City of Houston and partnersould adopt to begin saving lives on the streets today.

arious city entities should be involved in Vision Zero implementation. We have bolded a potentialet of top priorities for each entity.

his list is neither exhaustive nor inclusive of every policy that might be worth trying. We advocater each department assessing its own policies and potential strategies to develop the actual Vi-on Zero Action Plan based upon the reality of Houston. These suggestions can be a start and givesense of the comprehensive nature of this proposal. Each proposal corresponds to one or moresion Zero strategy, represented by the numbers 1-4.

City Hall / Task Force

• Establish a permanent Vision Zero Task Force in the MayOfce. The heads of multiple departments should be askeconvene a Vision Zero task force immediately and shouldasked for an initial report in 60 or 90 days with a comprelist of long and short term action items. Provisions shouldmade for an annual report following the initial report.• Launch a Vision Zero website to gather input from Housnians and coordinate information about the City’s Vision Zplans, upcoming events, and provide data.• Conduct Vision Zero presentations across the city.• Publish crash and safety data on a regular basis in open er-friendly formats that allow independent analysis.• Partner with private entities - developers, industry, freighemployers - to instill a citywide culture of safe streets and potential benets beyond city’s management reach.• Ask B-cycle to extend hours to 24 hours a day.• Collect better data to identify safety hazards and topcrash locations.• Improve data collection on walking and bicycling.• Prioritize everyone’s ability to walk safely throughout thelives, especially vulnerable users such as children, older adand people with disabilities.

City Council

• Prioritize our missing transportation system: Sidewalks crosswalks.• Allocate funding for pilot Complete Streets projects in evcouncil district.• Outlaw driving a motor vehicle while using a hand held d• Work with the Texas legislature to lower the default speeto 25 mph.

Fleet Services

• Ensure all city eet vehicles are equipped with technolorecords speeding and other dangerous driving behaviors• Oversee a citywide expansion of Defensive Driver trainincourses for all employees driving city vehicles.• Participate in task force messaging campaigns, such as bstickers and vehicle wraps.

3

1

21

2

41

13, 4

4

4

33

1, 2

2

2


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444444

2, 323

2, 44

4

44

4

44

44

4

1, 2

2

22

21

Public Displays of Progress

The Chelsea Norman Memorial Trail on Waugh.The Parks Connector Neighborhood Greenway.The South Union / OST Neighborhood Greenway Network.Finish the Downtown Parks Connector from the bayou to MKT.Create a Walking School Bus program.Help neighborhoods install 100’s of Painted Crosswalks.Continue and amplify HPD education and enforcement efforts.Conduct a Silhouette Campaign to pay respect those who died.Pass a ban on driving while using handheld devices.Create a Walkable Super Bowl Task Force.Have a safe Super Bowl and make improvements permanent.

Ideas for the Mayor and Council

Create the City of Houston Department of Transportation.

Fully fund, begin the Complete Streets and Transportation Plan.Ensure investments like CIP and ReBuild Houston are maximizingsafety benets.Develop funding package for implementing the Houston BikePlan, including Neighborhood Greenways reaching 85% ofhomes in the city by 2024.Propose bond election for the above and transit expansion.Dedicate Metro Mobility funds to pedestrian and bicycle accessto transit.Prioritize expansion of a regional bike share system.Establish a vision for equitable access to walkable urbanism, in-cluding mixed-use mixed-income transit oriented development.Take responsibility for ensuring construction and maintenance ofa complete sidewalk network within a decade.

Department of Transportation

• Conduct a Comprehensive Multimodal Complete Streets andTransportation Plan as required by Mayor Parker’s CompleteStreets Executive Order and called for by PlanHouston.• Undertake a high-quality ad campaign aimed at reducingspeeding, failure-to-yield, and other forms of reckless driving.• Increase anti-DWI campaigns in the city.• Increase programmable speedboards for intensive education/enforcement initiative.• Continue to conduct Mobility studies for every part of Houston.• Prioritize strategies to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled.

Public Works and Engineering

• Steps should be taken to put paint and concrete on the gin every council district this year with newer, safer street dthe Infrastructure Design Manual now embraces. PWE shoselect the best projects, but bike boxes, brightly painting cpoints, and installing bulbouts and pedestrian crossing sptables at schools are strong examples.• Wherever possible, neighborhoods should be empowereimprove their own areas, such as xing crosswalks with vibrpaint, prioritizing 25 mph speed limi ts, and installing tempsafe treatments as done in the tactical urbanism discipline.• Implement a Neighborhood Greenways network strategwhenever neighborhood streets are rebuilt in ReBuild Hou• Install more trafc calming measures – such as bulbouts, tcircles and pedestrian crossing speed tables.• Institute a program for “slow zones” in targeted areas.

Police Department +Department of Transportation

• Conduct intensive street-level outreach and enforcementsafety problems and trafc laws, focused on areas with knocrash histories.• Convene monthly meetings of the city’s trafc divisions antransportation bureaus to review trafc safety performanceset strategy for improvement.• Develop data-driven citywide enforcement strategy.

Metro

• Participate in task force messaging campaigns, such as bustickers and vehicle wraps.• Adopt a comprehensive long range plan that includes mincreasing mode share & reduction of VMT.• Collaborate with COH and others on pedestrian safety im

ments near transit stations.• Work with local media to improve false perceptions abouand transit.• Assess metro safety statistics in comparison to other largeagencies and seek best practices.• Enhance the experience of b us passengers (improve bus• Improve regional connectivity to bus services.

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Houston Police Department

• Increased enforcement against dangerous moving violations,including speeding, failing to yield to pedestrians, signal viola-tions, improper turns/disobeying signage, and distracted driving.• Increase speeding enforcement.• Update technology for capturing crash data including betterrecords of bicycle and pedestrian involved crashes.• Participate in task force messaging campaigns, such as bumperstickers and vehicle wraps.• Work with Health Department and data analyists to help give abetter understanding of the nature of crashes and deaths.

Planning and Development Department

• Integrate Vision Zero into PlanHouston.• Initiate Urban Corridors II to study best practices and recom-

mend policies for equitable transit-oriented development toallow millions of Houstonians to live within walking distance ofhigh quality transit stations and activity centers by 2025.• Work with Department of Transportation on the CompleteStreets and Transportation Plan.• Allow the MXD trafc impact analysis method for urban projects,which is more accurate than ITE models.• Develop fair single family home development trafc impactanalysis recognizing that such developments have a greater im-pact on Houston trafc than dense projects.• Seek to replace parking minimum requirements with compre-hensive parking management strategies.• Assess potential for eliminating unnecessary road capacity rec-ommendations in the Major Thoroughfare and Freeway Plan (4).• Work with the Health Department to integrate the principles ofHealth Impact Assessments into the decision making process ofthe Planning Commission.• Prioritize strategies to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled.

Parking Management Division

• Eliminate car parking requirements for bars and restaurantsthat serve alcohol.• Revisit parking sign design and placement.• Increase the efciency of parking usage.

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Health Department • Conduct public health surveillance on trafc-related hosizations and fatalities.• Provide Vision Zero task force with public health data to htarget trafc safety interventions.• Include trafc fatalities and injuries and prevention messapublic health reports.• Engage community public health partners in promoting VZero goals.• Promote research on walking, driving, motorcycling, and cling behaviors and patterns in the city.• Work with the Planning Department to integrate the pr inof Health Impact Assessments into the decision making prof the Planning Commission.• Work with Harris County Public Health and Environmentavices Health Impact Assessment and Built Form Unit t o inteHealth Impact Assessments into decision making processeHouston - Galveston Area Council Transportation Policy Co

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Improvement of Street Design

Drawing upon worldwide best practices in roadway improvementand regulation strategies, Vision Zero requires Houston to redesign its streets and intersections to improve safet as has alreadybegun with the Public Works and Engineering Departments work since Mayor Parker’s Complete Streets Executive Order. Here are possible street design improvement strategies:

• Clarify who belongs where on the street through better mark-ings and street design.• Add crosswalks (Clarify where pedestrians are crossing throughmarkings).• Open up intersections to improve visibility (Remove visual barri-ers such as parking that can cause trafc crashes and injuries nearintersections).• Add bike paths and lanes.• Use left turn lanes.• Eliminate unsafe turn movements (Shift left and right turns toother intersections with better conditions for visibility and trafc.• Leading pedestrian intervals (Give pedestrians a head start atthe light).• Leading bus interval (Give buses a head start at the light) (4).• Install trafc calming measures on residential streets to slowtrafc.• Time trafc signals for green waves (Keep drivers traveling to-gether at consistent speed of travel).• Reduce nighttime speeding with signal timing (Cut down op-portunities for speeding outside of rush hour).• Increase street lighting level (Improve visibility at night in high-crash areas).• Pedestrian safety islands (Shorten crossing distance and visualcues for drivers).• Extend curbs for pedestrians into the line of sight for drivers(Shorten crossing distances and extends curbs at intersections forbetter visibility).• Lower speed limits (Lower speed limits to send the messagethat drivers are entering school zones or other areas with heavy

pedestrian trafc).• Improve accessibility (Make crossing signal buttons accessibleand reduce curb height to street level to improve access for peo-ple in wheelchairs, with strollers, etc).

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Appendix II: Other Cities’ Vision Zero Plans

ision Zero Networktp://visionzeronetwork.org

ision Zero Swedentp://www.visionzeroinitiative.com/en/

ew York City Vision Zero Action Plantp://www.nyc.gov/html/visionzero/pdf/nyc-vision-zero-action-plan.pdf

os Angeles Department of Transportationreat Streets for Los Angeles Strategic Plantp://ladot.lacity.org/stellent/groups/Departments/@LADOT_Contributor/documents/Con-butor_Web_Content/LACITYP_029076.pdf

he City of San Francisco is planning on implementing Vision Zero and ending trafceaths by 2024. tp://www.visionzerosf.com

he City of Seattle is planning on implementing Vision Zero by 2030. http://www.seattle.ov/visionzero

Washington, D.C. is planning on Vision Zero implementation by 2024. http://ddot.c.gov/page/vision-zero-initiative

he City of Portland, OR is moving toward Vision Zero implementation in the next 10ears.tp://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/40390

he City of Boston has this year announced a task force and implementation of Visionero.tp://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.aspx?id=20044

ustin, TX has established a Vision Zero Task Force to plan implementation of Visionero.

tp://austintexas.gov/department/vision-zero-task-force

he City of San J ose, CA is working toward Vision Zero implementation.tp://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/42849

eaders in San Diego are pushing implementation of a Vision Zero Plan with the goal ofero trafc deaths by 2025.tp://www.visionzerosd.com

Appendix III: Additional Resources

US DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx Mayor’s Challengehttp://www.transportation.gov/policy-initiatives/ped-bike-safety/mayors-challenge-qs

US FHWA Toward Zero Deathshttp://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/tzd/

National Strategy on Highway Safety Toward Zero Deathshttp://www.towardzerodeaths.org

Houston Galveston Area Council Transportation Safety Planninghttp://www.h-gac.com/taq/planning/[email protected]

TXDOT Crash Statisticshttp://www.txdot.gov/government/enforcement/crash-statistics.html

Texas Transportation Commission Trafc Safety Task ForceThis new effort is being led by Commissioner Jeff Moseley from the Houston region.There is not currently any information online about this effort other than the initial re-ports from the TTC twitter account. Contact X for more information.https://twitter.com/txdotcommission/status/628930645117399041

Center for Active DesignNot-for-prot organization making health a central priority in the design of b uildings,streets, and neighborhoods.

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Houston Tomorrow is an independent 501(c)(3)nonprot dedicated to improving the quality ofife for all the people of the Houston region.

his report was made possible through the support of the individualmembers of the Houston Tomorrow Department of Transprtation.

s part of a package of sustainable transportation initiatives, the Houston Tomorrow Department of Trans-ortation works to support the Houston Coalition for Complete Streets in making the streets of the Houstongion safer for all our people, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transport.

TDOT also supports the Houston transit strategy of putting high quality service where the people and jobse, by investing in more dedicated lane high capacity transit in our most dense activity centers, installing agional bus rapid transit system based upon the success of our Downtown HOV Park and Ride system, andaximizing the benets of the New Bus Network by increasing transit funding to a more balanced positionthe region’s transportation spending allocations.

ouston Tomorrow has long given the people of the Houston region independent analysis and ideas forgional transportation funding and planning. With billions spent each year in the region, are our neigh-

orhoods seeing things getting better? Most of us want to concentrate more on walkable urbanism, transit,omplete Streets, and safety than on building new roads on the edges of our region. But that is not whatur region is spending our abundance on now. With your help, we’re going to change that.

upport more of this by joining the Houston Tomorrow Department of Transportation here:tp://www.classy.org/JoinHTDOT

ouston Tomorrow23 Main, Suite 700-52ouston, TX 770023-523-5757

[email protected]://www.HoustonTomorrow.org

Toward a regional Vision Ze

Houston Tomorrow plans for 2to support the regional movemto end trafc deaths

• Support City of Houston action leading the cfor a safer Houston region however we can.

• Engage a philosophically diverse, regional gof stakeholders to seek a platform for a regionvision zero strategy that our leadership can ba

• Engage a diverse set of analysts to open up tentially available data sources

• Release a series of reports illuminating the trnature of trafc crashes, deaths, and injuries acthe region in collaboration with various partne

• Fund this work

• Choose several other cities with an enthusiascommunity based partner pushing for Vision Zthat city and create a similar report for them.

We will be seeking foundation and individual donor support for this work as well as setting up sponsopportunities for events and programs. If you are interested in the potential to help bring the trafc dof the Houston region down, please contact us.

Houston Tomorrow will do all that we can for any elected ofcial in the Houston region seeking policwill bring safe streets, healthier neighborhoods, and happier people. Please contact us for best pracbriengs, and ideas. We are available to do specic analysis and work for hire related to this mission


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0Toward a Vision Zero Action Plan for HoustonHouston Tomorrow recommendations for eliminating trafc-related deaths and injuries

Vision Zero Houston Report

Documents

Transcript of Vision Zero Houston Report