The development of the West Hollywood Target Vision Zero Action Plan is well underway, as the city aims to eliminate fatalities and severe injuries resulting from traffic collisions on its roadways. Following the establishment of this ambitious goal by the West Hollywood City Council in February 2021, the city has been collaborating with transportation consultants from DKS Associates to shape the plan. Feedback from a task force composed of West Hollywood Advisory Board Members and Commissioners has also been instrumental in its development.
In a recent update provided to the Transportation Commission in March 2023, the goals, existing conditions, initial public outreach, and proposed focus areas for mitigation strategies were outlined. This update was based on historical collision data, with a data-driven approach being employed to prioritize strategies that address the collision factors responsible for the most severe and fatal incidents. From 2017 to 2021, West Hollywood experienced a total of 3,140 reported collisions, resulting in 78 severe injuries and four fatalities, according to the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System.
The majority of the severe and fatal collisions involved vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. Vulnerable users accounted for 74% of severe and fatal incidents, with pedestrians representing 40%, bicyclists 10%, and motorcyclists 24%. Intersections were identified as high-risk areas, accounting for 93% of severe and fatal collisions, while crashes resulting from speeding and impaired driving constituted a significant portion.
To address these collision factors, a set of general strategies was presented to the Transportation Commission in March 2023. These strategies include implementing infrastructure improvements to increase driver awareness of vulnerable road users, calming traffic and reducing speeds, exploring the possibility of reducing speed limits citywide, developing policies to maintain accessibility for vulnerable users during construction projects, expanding safe routes to school and safe routes for seniors, enhancing infrastructure connectivity for vulnerable road users, implementing education and enforcement programs, and partnering with advocacy groups and local businesses to promote safe behaviors.
| Intersection Location | Number of Crashes | Severity Score |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Monica Blvd & La Brea Ave | 37 | 540 |
| Fountain Ave & Havenhurst Dr | 14 | 456 |
| Fountain Ave & Formosa Ave | 7 | 410 |
| Melrose Ave & Westbourne Dr | 6 | 404 |
| Santa Monica Blvd & N Crescent Heights Blvd | 34 | 395 |
| N W Knoll Dr & Santa Monica Blvd | 7 | 395 |
| Sunset Blvd & Londonderry Pl | 5 | 393 |
| La Cienega Blvd & Santa Monica Blvd | 31 | 383 |
| Fountain Ave & Fairfax Ave | 22 | 339 |
| La Cienega Blvd & Melrose Ave | 21 | 327 |
Furthermore, the staff and consultant team identified specific priority locations where crashes were more likely to result in severe injuries or fatalities. The selection process involved ranking crash locations based on frequency and severity, with fatal crashes given more weight. The analysis highlighted hazardous intersections along Santa Monica Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Fountain Avenue, La Cienega Boulevard, and Melrose Avenue as the most concerning areas.
In addition to the general mitigation measures, the Vision Zero Action Plan will provide detailed recommendations for each priority location, focusing on targeted interventions. The plan will consider public feedback and incorporate specific safety improvement recommendations. As an example, the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, which witnessed 43 collisions and four severe incidents, may see the implementation of measures such as leading pedestrian intervals or pedestrian scramble crosswalks to enhance pedestrian safety. Speed limit reductions and improved signal visibility are also being considered for this location.
Equity is a crucial aspect of the plan’s development, and the staff and consultant team are evaluating how to incorporate an assessment of the relative equity context around each location. By considering Metro’s Equity Needs Index (MENI), which takes into account factors such as low-income households, BIPOC populations, and car ownership, the plan aims to prioritize safety investments in areas with the greatest need. This approach will help reduce disparities and target safety improvements where they are most required, especially in less affluent and transit-dependent parts of the city.
The Draft Vision Zero Action Plan is currently in development, and its recommendations and prioritization of locations will be shared with the Commission, other relevant boards and commissions, and the public for additional feedback. An online outreach tool is being developed to facilitate public engagement, and real-time outreach opportunities, such as pop-up events, will also be scheduled in the summer. After incorporating public input, the refined draft plan will be presented to the City Council for adoption, tentatively scheduled for September 2023.
For more information and updates on the WeHo Target Vision Zero Action Plan, please visit the project website at www.wehotargetvisionzero.com or sign up for email updates at www.wehotargetvisionzero.com/contact-us.
Separate in time and space pedestrians from cars at La Brea and Santa Monica (at least during the peak times!) — the way it is done at Hollywood and Highland.
Would ¾ of a second save a life? Saving pedestrian and cyclist lives is like the weather, everybody talks about it but nobody does anything about it. Each day 19 pedestrians and cyclists will die because a driver was forced to use the RIGHT FOOT BRAKING METHOD and COULD NOT STOP IN TIME! The equivalent of another mass shooting. Like the mass shootings, we will cry and pray but do nothing about the cause. There are organizations who could do something about it. They are NHTSA, GHSA and TRB. All government agencies who claim to care about these deaths but who… Read more »
What do bordering cities think about these plans? Anything we do in our city will certainly affect Beverly Hills, Hollywood, etc
What is the budget for this DKS Associates consulting project?
Unless I missed it, there was no mention of how much use of cell phones while driving can be attributed to the statistics and how much good old fashioned traffic enforcement can be the remedy.
Since at least fifty percent of the city’s vehicle traffic is :”pass through” – that is, on the way through the city without need to stop – contending with bad driving habits and a disdain for rules is a more universal problem than any one city can attend. Eventually only restricting traffic from travelog in certain areas will ease and prevent some pedestrian and cycle incidents. More training for cyclists, also, to avoid vehicle encounters. Pedestrians will forever be vulberable – no matter how colorful the detailed Plan.
Your hired for this reality. The city would rather spend, spin, twist.
This way it looks like they are doing something. Even if it futile, useless waste of dollars. The clowns are in full force.
Pedestrians contribute to the mess — often pedestrians waiting to cross just step out as he man lights up, or they perceive its clear w/o ever looking to see if its actually clear often just staring at their screens and never once looking up
Instead of actually doing something useful, the city staffers and heads would rather appear that they are always doing something that is cutting edge, revolutionary and award winning. So much busy work, so many meetings, so much money, so much more busy work, so many cost over runs, more meetings and finally an underwhelming result with a huge price tag.
Every interaction our family has had with city processes has encountered very nice people, but lots of busy work, talking around the issue (if they actually understand the issue sitting in city hall cubicles), and odd, disconnected conclusions. Our parent’s generation called this “C students”.
This city counsel is BORED with a lot of money to throw around. Let’s have bars open to 4 AM that helps traffic safety.
Is there a City “Target Action Plan” to get rid of Sepi?
Also, the turning circles on Sherwood, lead to far more risk and tension for walking pedestrians. Drivers routinely overshoot the crosswalk due to the design that makes it difficult for them to anticipate folks walking
They’ve made Melrose so awful its guaranteed to make the problem worse. The bottlenecks and confusing priorities at W Knoll, will lead to frustration and collision