You might think that being a Vision Zero City is a just another public relations stunt. It’s not. Vision Zero is in fact a philosophy for developing city transportation infrastructure. It’s focused on the goal of revamping and forging a city where fatalities and serious injuries on roadways are brought down to zero. Vision Zero cities have access to money and methodologies to achieve this goal.
The journey is underway in Boca Raton (Boca Vision Zero web page) and in case you missed the kickoff community meeting, below is our summary of where we are. Even if you missed it, the City Mobility Department has provided a survey for everyone to provide input. Take it here.
Vision Zero Kickoff Summary
The city and its Vision Zero consultant, Kimley-Horn, held the Vision Zero Public Kick-Off meeting on October 24, 2024. A large amount of information was shared with residents and residents provided input on desired infrastructure improvements. The schedule graphic below is updated to reflect the new schedule information provided at this meeting.
Vision Zero is a data-driven process using Boca Raton roadway crash data. This data, however, is not a complete view of dangerous roadway infrastructure. The crash data needs to be augmented with resident input. There are cases where roadways are perceived by residents to be too dangerous and are avoided. This results in relatively low crashes at this dangerous infrastructure because of low utilization.
Vision Zero Background
Here’s some information regarding Boca Raton’s Vision Zero: Boca Raton’s Vision Zero Progress Tracker Update. – BocaFirst. Look here for Vision Zero information: About | Vision Zero Network
The Vision Zero action plan specifies the activities required to eliminate serious injuries and fatalities on Boca Raton’s roadways. Also included in the action plan will be a schedule for reaching this milestone.
Recent Vision Zero Progress
This section discusses the update shown in the following Vision Zero Action Plan Progress Tracker.
Public Meeting Results
Here are the presentation materials from the meeting: City of Boca Raton Needs Assessment
Introduced at the meeting was a Vision Zero project website. City of Boca Raton Vision Zero Action Plan | Kimley-Horn Social Pinpoint
The city has scheduled three additional public meetings. We’ll provide details on these meetings when more information is available. Please attend one of these meetings to get updates on this important program as well as share your ideas on roadway improvements.
A large map of the city is available at the meetings to help you specify recommended infrastructure improvements. The following pic, courtesy of Deputy Mayor Yvette Drucker, shows Boca Raton’s Vision Zero Program Team along with the Deputy Mayor. The yellow pieces of paper on the map contain resident infrastructure improvement recommendations.
USDOT Planning and Demonstration Grant Agreement
The USDOT awarded the city $4M for planning and demonstration projects. To start receiving the funds the city must agree to terms and conditions set by the USDOT. The goal is to complete this grant agreement by 12/6/2024.
Summary
A status update to Boca Raton’s Vision Zero Progress Tracker is provided. The update includes the results of Boca Raton’s Vision Zero Public Kickoff meeting as well as a schedule update for completing the USDOT Grant Agreement.
BocaFirst will continue to monitor and report on the progress of Vision Zero in Boca Raton.
