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Seattle to review Vision Zero program after safety concerns
A Seattle city councilmember is calling for an audit of the Vision Zero program as the city falls short of its goal to eliminate traffic deaths. Officials say a review could help improve safety efforts moving forward.
SEATTLE - It's been a decade since Vision Zero started in Seattle with a lofty goal of ending traffic deaths or serious injuries by 2030.
Now, Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka wants an audit of the program because he said Seattle is nowhere close to zero.
He talked about it during a Transportation, Waterfront and Seattle Center Committee meeting Thursday.
What is Seattle's ‘Vision Zero’?
Local perspective:
FOX 13 Seattle asked people on the streets of downtown if they knew what Vision Zero was, and the answer was generally, "No."
The question now: What needs to change to make it safer for everyone?
We first talked with Alison Wendler, who commutes to work on a bike. We asked if she knew about Vision Zero.
"No, I didn't," she said.
She knows to pay attention to cars, pedestrians, scooters, you name it.
"There's, like, more direct ways that I can take that just aren't safe for me on a bike, so I kind of go out of my way, and maybe it takes longer, but it's a more enjoyable bike commute," Wendler said.
Robyn Stevens walks. We asked if she knew about Vision Zero.
"No. I don't think so. I think I'd heard of it," she said.
She said getting around the city can be challenging.
"I'll take certain routes based on what, you know, I find to be the best commute, even if it's not necessarily the most efficient," she said.
We spoke with several others who also did not know what Vision Zero was about, but they were intrigued at the idea of improving safety for people in the city.
Saka wants a full review of Vision Zero by the city auditor. It is set to begin this fall.
Seattle reviewing its traffic program
Dig deeper:
SDOT said it completed a top-to-bottom review of its own in 2023. It developed and released a full report. That same year it also released a 3-year action plan based on what it found during the review.
"Bike lanes and protected barriers and new sidewalks, don't in and of themselves, help save lives, they can contribute greatly to it, but it's people's behavior," Saka said.
There is no timeline for how long the audit may take, but Saka wants to look at SDOT's practices and response to emergencies.
Both were subjects of questions during a council committee meeting on Thursday.
"I think the department is doing their level best, but I also — there's more that can be done," Saka told FOX 13 Seattle.
The backstory:
Vision Zero started in 2015 to end traffic-related deaths and serious injuries by 2030. It focuses on safety improvement projects.
SDOT officials said these projects have made a difference, including 'No Turn on Red' signage at hundreds of intersections and giving pedestrians a head start at most crosswalks. They said that change has led to a nearly 50% drop in the number of people hit by turning cars at those locations.
Officials said they plan to add 'No Turn on Red' restrictions to 100 more intersections. They told FOX 13 Seattle that will mean more than 500 intersections will no longer allow cars to turn at red lights, which is nearly half of all intersections with traffic signals.
"If we all do our part, then getting to Vision Zero is an achievable goal," SDOT's Venu Nemani said.
By the numbers:
But in a decade, SDOT said more than 2,100 people have been seriously hurt and 284 people have died from traffic crashes.
"This impacts people's everyday lives and when we lose someone on our roads, people feel it," Saka said.
Just in February, a 27-year-old woman was hit and killed crossing the street on Capitol Hill.
People haven't forgotten.
"For me, I think it's a lot of, like, buy-in, like everybody has to agree that we're going to all communicate and be in this society together," Stevens said. "I just feel like there's a cataclysmic shift of people choosing to do their own thing."
Stevens remembered the Capitol Hill incident immediately and shared her heartbreak at the loss of another life in a crash.
FOX 13 Seattle will continue to follow this story for updates and specifics about the upcoming audit.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Dan Griffin.