By Diana Avila
The San Jose City Council voted 8-1 to accept a budget increase for a transportation safety initiative in order to decrease traffic fatalities.
The council agreed to a modification of the current plan, but granted no extra funds.
The committee recommended the city increase the Vision Zero Action Plan budget to hire more police officers for traffic patrols and to improve infrastructure.
The recommendation by the Transportation and Environment Committee to agree on a revision of the Vision Zero Action Plan to lower traffic fatalities in San . Jose.
During a Transportation and Environment Committee meeting on Feb. 3, committee members agreed on a new Vision Zero Action Plan and sent it to city council members for review and approval in Tuesday’s city council meeting.
If approved, the new resolution would be adopted for the new fiscal year 2020-21.
According to city records, the Vision Zero transportation safety initiative was adopted by San Jose in May of 2015.
Reports from city’s staff showed that traffic accidents increased 37% between the years of 2009 and 2018.
In 2018, 195 people suffered critical injuries from traffic collisions, according to the reports.
City staff said that marks the highest number of severely injured people within the last 5 years.
“Given this program track record, it’s not working,” San Jose resident Diane Solomon said, addressing the council.
Sixty fatal traffic crashes occurred in 2019, an increase from 52 in 2018, according to the reports.
Solomon and many other San Jose residents shared their grief for the people that they lost to fatal traffic crashes during public comment.
District 3, which includes San Jose State, has the most fatal traffic crashes within the city, said John Ristow, director of the Department of Transportation.
The district witnessed a total of 5,544 crashes between 2014 and 2018 and 34 of those were fatal.
“I myself am a recent retiree. I personally have almost been struck twice,” San Jose resident Joe Glenn said. Council members shared condolences to those who have lost their lives due to traffic collisions.
“We take this issue very seriously,” Council member Deborah “Dev” Davis said. “I know me saying that is not going to take your pain away.”
Davis addressed some of the comments made by the residents and several statistical reports.
She explained the need to have a human aspect and said the reports could save lives.
Council member Pam Foley said she doesn’t want research on fatalities to delay a resolution that could lower the number of victims from traffic accidents.
“I am in complete support of where we are going, but we need to move faster,” Foley said.
Council member Sylvia Arenas shared concerns that her constituency, District 8, would not get as much support because it has the third lowest number of fatalities.
District 8 had a total of 1,673 crashes between 2014 and 2018, with a total of 20 fatal collisions.
Ristow confirmed the possibility that different districts would get different levels of support depending on their track record.
“I love that this campaign is targeting our older residents, since they are the ones who are the most at risk,” Arenas said.
District 10 Council member Johnny Khamis made the lone vote against increasing the budget.
Khamis expressed condolences to the families of the victims and said the city had a responsibility to fund other city programs.
