REPORT TO BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SUBJECT
Title
Santa Clara Vision Zero: Collision Analysis and High-Injury Network (He)
Report
BACKGROUND
Vision Zero is a strategy aimed at helping to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while also promoting safe, healthy, and fair mobility for everyone. The objective of developing and implementing a Vision Zero Plan is listed in both the City’s Bicycle Plan Update and Pedestrian Master Plan. In December 2023, the City Council received Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant funding from the Federal Highway Administration to establish a Santa Clara Vision Zero Plan. The City Council approved an agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. for professional services for the Santa Clara Vision Zero Plan on May 28, 2024.
The Santa Clara Vision Zero Plan (Plan) kicked off in July 2024. This effort involves extensive community engagement and a thorough citywide safety analysis to identify the most frequent types, locations, severity, and demographics of collisions in the City. The Plan will develop a collision countermeasure toolbox, which will include programmatic measures and roadway improvements to address traffic safety issues. Additionally, the Plan will identify a priority list of potential traffic safety improvements and implementable actions to guide the City’s efforts in achieving Vision Zero.
In August 2024, staff presented this project to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) to provide a project overview and select a BPAC representative to serve on the Vision Zero Working Group, which guides the development of the Vision Zero Plan.
DISCUSSION
Since August, staff and the City’s consultant have completed the first round of community engagement, collected historical collision data, and completed the collision data analysis.
The project’s first community outreach phase provided multiple ways for the community to connect with the project team, including a project email and voicemail number, online survey, virtual community workshop, and three pop-up events at the Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival, Santa Clara Farmer’s Market, and Holiday Tree Lighting event. Planned events for the second engagement phase include one pop-up event, one workshop, and a new online survey.
The project team analyzed collision data for the eight years from 2016 through 2023 by collision severity and other factors to determine collision trends, collision profiles, and developed a draft High Injury Network (HIN). Staff will use this HIN as a tool to prioritize future roadway improvement projects and update the City’s policies and guidelines.
Community Engagement
The initial phase of community engagement was conducted through a combination of virtual and in-person activities. Online efforts included an interactive survey and the first community workshop, while in-person outreach activities involved tabling in three events. The project team connected with an estimated 250 people at the Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival (September 14-15), approximately 75 people at the Santa Clara Farmers Market (November 2), and about 400 people at the Holiday Tree Lighting event (December 6). Key feedback from these events highlighted community concerns, including:
• Drivers failing to stop at intersections.
• Cyclists disregarding red lights and stop signs.
• Vehicular speeding and distracted driving.
• Insufficient safe bike lanes.
• Poor safety practices among teen and young adult cyclists
• Unsafe intersections near schools
The first online survey, launched on September 14 and closed on December 9, 2024, provided valuable insights into travel experiences in Santa Clara. The survey featured an interactive map, allowing respondents to pinpoint specific locations and provide detailed input about various safety concerns throughout the city. This tool generated 531 contributions from 132 unique contributors. Additionally, the survey collected 264 responses to questions about respondents’ demographics, travel modes and patterns, safety challenges, and perspectives on potential safety improvements and Vision Zero initiatives. Key findings from the survey included:
• Respondents identified “vehicle speeding,” “drivers failing to yield to pedestrians and cyclists,” and “red-light running or not stopping at stop signs” as primary concerns.
• 66 percent of respondents indicated they are willing to shift toward active transportation options, such as walking or cycling, if traffic safety improved.
• 94 percent of respondents expressed willingness to adjust their driving behavior, including reducing speeds, to help minimize the risk of traffic collisions.
To raise public awareness on the Vision Zero effort, the project team installed 100 signs with a project QR code and a safety message on key corridors in Santa Clara, and set up multiple methods for the community to stay up to date on the project and provide input:
• Web: Subscribe for project updates at SantaClaraCA.gov/VisionZero <https://www.santaclaraca.gov/our-city/departments-g-z/public-works/engineering/traffic-engineering/vision-zero>
• Voicemail: 408-915-6566
• Email: SantaClaraVisionZero@kimley-horn.com <mailto:SantaClaraVisionZero@kimley-horn.com>
Collision Analysis Results
Collision data for the most recent eight-year period (January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2023) was collected and analyzed as part of the citywide collision data analysis. The data was sourced from the City and County’s collision records database, Crossroads, which integrates crash records from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS). Crossroads provides up-to-date police reports with geolocated data, enabling detailed geospatial analysis and network screening.
During the eight-year period, there were a total of 7,223 reported collisions on Santa Clara’s roadway network. Of the total collisions, 2,470 collisions (34%) resulted in an injury, including 49 (1%) which resulted in fatality and 116 (2%) which resulted in severe injuries. The analysis found that crashes that resulted in a fatality or severe injury (K+SI) have increased over the eight-year period (Attachment 1).
In terms of collision locations, 46 percent of the collisions occurred at unsignalized intersections, with 23 percent occurring at signalized intersections, and the remaining 31 percent occurring on roadway segments. Collisions by severity levels are presented in Attachment 1. The Citywide Fatalities and Injury Collisions map is provided in Attachment 2. The most frequent contributing factors for all collisions were:
• Unsafe speed (22%),
• Improper turning (21%)
• Auto right-of-way violation (13%).
In relation to transportation mode, almost all collisions involved people driving; however, bicyclists and pedestrians are also affected. Approximately 7 percent of all collisions involved bicyclists or pedestrians, and bicyclist and pedestrian collisions comprised 39 percent of KSI collisions. Of the 165 fatal or severe injury collisions, 42 collisions (26%) were pedestrian involved, and 22 collisions (13%) were bicyclist involved. Table 1 below summarizes injury severity of all crashes by mode. The Citywide Fatalities and Severe Injury Collisions Involving Pedestrians or Cyclists map is provided in Attachment 3.
Table 1: Injury Severity by Mode, 2016 - 2023
|
Mode |
Fatal |
Severe Injury |
Other Injury |
Percent of all collisions |
Percent of all KSI collisions |
|
Motor Vehicle Only |
26 |
75 |
1,907 |
27.8% |
61.2% |
|
Vehicle-Bicycle |
2 |
20 |
204 |
3.1% |
13.3% |
|
Vehicle-Pedestrian |
21 |
21 |
192 |
3.2% |
25.5% |
|
Total |
49 |
116 |
2,303 |
34.1% |
100.0% |
At the January 27, 2024 BPAC meeting, the project team will:
1. Share a summary of community feedback collected to date, including from the online survey results, voicemail messages, emails, and prior outreach meetings.
2. Present collision analysis results including collision trends, primary collision factors, and draft High-injury Network (HIN).
3. Outline future outreach activities and next steps for the project.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Collisions by Year and Severity
2. Citywide Fatalities and Severe Injury Collisions Map (2016-2023)
3. Citywide Fatalities and Severe Injury Collisions Involving Pedestrians or Cyclists Map (2016-2023)
Staff
Written by: Nicole He, Associate Engineer, Public Works
Reviewed by: Carol Shariat, Principal Transportation Planner, Public Works
Reviewed by: Steve Chan, Transportation Manager, Public Works
Approved by: Michael Liw, Assistant Director/City Engineer, Public Works