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Calling on the Joint Committees on the Environment and Transportation and Public Utilities to hold hearings on the status of the City of Philadelphia’s Vision Zero action plan, which is designed to reduce traffic crashes, improve performance of the street system, and promote active transportation, including bicycling, within the City.
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WHEREAS, Mayor Jim Kenney signed Executive Order 11-16 on November 7, 2016 to establish the Office of Complete Streets and the Vision Zero Task Force. The executive order charged the Vision Zero Task Force with developing an action plan that would put the City of Philadelphia on a path toward zero traffic-related deaths by the year 2030; and
WHEREAS, The Vision Zero Task Force was created because of significant challenges in the City regarding traffic and safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that Philadelphia in 2015 experienced 6.0 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents. This rate is higher than Los Angeles (5.74) and much higher than New York City (2.87) and Boston (1.93). PennDOT reported that 96 people were killed in traffic crashes on Philadelphia streets in 2016; and
WHEREAS, Severe traffic incidents are particularly dangerous for people walking and biking. While walkers and bikers were involved in 23% of reported crashes, they represent 44% of those killed in crashes on Philadelphia streets, according to longitudinal data from PennDOT; and
WHEREAS, Bicycle safety is an area of significant concern to both the City and country. In 2017, the Governor’s Highway Safety Association reported that 818 bicyclists were killed on U.S. roadways, a 12 percent increase over the previous year and the largest uptick in bicycle deaths in two decades. According to the association, seventy percent of these deaths occurred in urban areas; and
WHEREAS, In response to the Mayor’s executive order, the Vision Zero Task Force brought together state and local government officials side-by-side with community and advocacy groups to develop a Three-Year Action Plan, which was released in September 2017. The Action Plan was signed by Mayor Kenney and representatives from the Managing Director’s Office, the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Office of Complete Streets, the Department of Planning & Development, the Department of Streets, the Department of Licenses & Inspections, the Department of Public Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), People’s Emergency Center, the School District of Philadelphia, the African American Chamber of Commerce, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha, Inc., and the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC); and
WHEREAS, The Vision Zero Task Force is committed to engaging communities and stakeholders of all types to shape decision-making on this critical issue. The Vision Zero Task Force received over 23,000 responses to its Vision Zero Safety Map, attended 44 community events, engaged over 900 residents and accepted 961 safety surveys and 59 draft action plan comment forms in the development of its strategic approach; and
WHEREAS, The Action Plan relies on fundamental principles, which include the belief that traffic deaths are preventable and unacceptable and that safe human behaviors, education, and enforcement are essential to a safe transportation system; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby call upon the Joint Committees on Environment and Transportation and Utilities to hold hearings on the status of the City of Philadelphia’s Vision Zero Action Plan, which is designed to reduce traffic crashes, improve performance of the street system, and promote active transportation, including bicycling, within the City.
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