Vision Zero

The City of Lafayette is committed to prioritize and address pedestrian and traffic safety in an effort to make our streets function better for all of us. Roadway engineering, education and enforcement ALL play an important role in safety so that we can achieve the goal to eliminate transportation-related fatalities in Lafayette.

Vision Zero

The City Council has adopted a Vision Zero policy and is committed to improving traffic safety throughout Lafayette for people of all ages walking, rolling, biking and driving throughout our city - Read the November 22, 2021 staff report or watch the presentation.

Vision Zero is a global strategy to eliminate all transportation-related fatalities and severe injuries, while improving safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. The Vision Zero approach views transportation-related fatalities as preventable, not inevitable, and is data-informed and equity-centered.

Its core belief is simple—no one should be killed or seriously injured by roadway crashes. Compared to a traditional transportation safety approach, Vision Zero and the Safe System Approach present a different way of looking at roadway safety. It acknowledges that while humans make mistakes, roadway deaths can be prevented if we ensure our entire road system is safe and designed to anticipate these mistakes to prevent people from being killed or seriously injured.

The Vision Zero Network provides detailed information on Vision Zero and how it can improve safety on our streets.

Some of the specific City efforts that have been developed in support of Vision Zero include:

1. Local Road Safety Plan

In 2022 the City initiated work on a Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP); a proactive approach to address safety needs while demonstrating responsiveness to safety challenges in Lafayette.  The LRSP analyzes local data and conditions, identifies specific needs, and develops a customized set of actions and improvements to proactively lay the groundwork for future safety projects.  These improvements include engineering roadway countermeasures as well as education, enforcement, encouragement, and emerging technologies strategies that should be implemented by Lafayette City Staff as well as partner agencies and stakeholders to improve traffic safety in Lafayette.

Completion of an LRSP is a requisite for many federal, state, regional and local grant funding opportunities, and development of Lafayette’s LRSP will be consistent with federal and state funding requirements provided by both the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Caltrans.

More information can be found on the Local Road Safety Plan webpage.

In 2021, as part of the City’s efforts to improve traffic safety near schools for all users, particularly for those walking or biking to school, City Staff along with consultants, Toole Design Group, engaged with the community and school district staff to learn about safety concerns near our schools. This work was the basis for the development of short-term, mid-term, and long-term projects for seven schools.

Rapid Implementation Plans:

• Stanley Middle School combined with Lafayette Elementary School
• Springhill Elementary School
• Burton Valley
• Happy Valley
• Meher-White Pony
• Acalanes High School

More information about this effort can be found on the Traffic Safety Around Schools webpage.

3. Slow Down Lafayette

In collaboration with the City's Engineering Department, the Lafayette Police Department has launched Slow Down Lafayette, an effort to monitor traffic speed and volume information along with past collision data to identify high risk locations across Lafayette that will guide future enforcement activities.  In addition, the effort will result in the provision of regular education efforts on how to be a safer driver, pedestrian and bicyclist on our roadways.

4. Contra Costa County Countywide Vision Zero

The Contra Costa Transportation Authority is part of a collaboration with the county and its cities to develop a Vision Zero framework that supports safer travel for all residents in Contra Costa.  For information on the Countywide Vision Zero effort, visit the Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s website for information on their collaboration with the county and cities to develop a Vision Zero framework that supports safer travel throughout Contra Costa County.