At a special meeting on October 27, city staff presented their Slow Streets and Vision Zero Action Plan recommendations to the Transportation Commission. Here’s how it went down.
Slow Streets
At a high level, staff’s recommendations were to: 1. maintain the existing 4.7 miles of Slow Streets for another year, 2. prioritize finishing the Active Transportation Plan (ATP), and 3. leverage the repaving plan to improve select sections of Slow Streets.
Staff pointed out that the role of Slow Streets has evolved — they’re no longer being used primarily for social distance, but as safe streets for active transportation, welcoming to people of all ages and abilities. In a time of epidemic speeding and reckless driving, that’s no small thing. They have other benefits, too, like improved ‘sense of community’, which was cited by over 40% of survey respondents as a favorite thing about Slow Streets.
The streets that were chosen to be Slow Streets were selected partly because they were already existing or planned low-stress streets in our draft ATP. The ATP got delayed with the pandemic, but is ramping up again, and will be finalized next year. Staff’s proposal is to keep what turned out to be a really good thing for reasons beyond COVID in place while the ATP is finalized.
Bike Walk Alameda spoke up in support of staff’s recommendations, proposed a few additional low-cost, high-return tweaks, and thanked staff for their work. While some in the community remain opposed to Slow Streets, pointing out that Slow Streets aren’t serving their original purpose any longer, we’re grateful our city acts on opportunities to improve safety however they arise. All the more so if those opportunities also encourage green modes of transportation, dovetailing with critical climate goals. As a society, we need to make it safe and easy for everyone to be able to choose to get around without a car if they want, a choice many of us do not have right now. As quick-builds, Slow Streets are far from perfect, but they’ve given us a taste of what’s possible, all for the low cost of just reducing traffic volumes and speeds on a few residential streets. Imagine what’s possible with more investment and a connected network.
Vision Zero Action Plan
Staff presented an overview of the Vision Zero Action Plan and shared highlights, like the adjusted target of 2035 for zero traffic fatalities, five years earlier than originally proposed. This change was in response to community input. They noted that this is an ambitious goal, and will require funding and staffing support, something BWA underscored in our comments. We don’t want this to remain only a vision.
The Transportation Commission approved staff recommendations unanimously.
Next up: City Council. Let’s get it done!