New Westminster is heading down a road that could make it a Canadian leader in Vision Zero.
At its Dec. 2 meeting, council unanimously supported a motion from Mayor Patrick Johnstone to strike up a task force that will make recommendations to council to achieve Vision Zero. The motion noted that many jurisdictions have adopted a Vision Zero strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all.
“In the lengthy hangover of COVID, roads are getting less safe in North America. After decades of roads getting safer … that trend has shifted, specifically in North America,” he said. “It is a strange North American phenomenon, and I'm not sure we fully understand it, but the data is pretty clear. It's especially getting less safe for vulnerable road users – cyclists and pedestrians.”
Instead of continuing to “play whack a mole” and address individual traffic safety issues as they arise, Johnstone said he would like the City of New Westminster to adopt a Vision Zero mindset.
“It is a change in mindset. It's not a strategy; it's not a list of items to do,” he said. “It's a mindset about a different way to look at how we prioritize public safety and how we prioritize public space.”
As a first step toward Vision Zero, Johnstone proposed the formation of a task force that brings together a variety of partners, including ICBC, TransLink, Fraser Health, and the city’s police and fire departments. He said New Westminster would not be able to adopt a Vision Zero mindset in a meaningful way on its own.
“It starts with striking a task force to bring those partners together. And I think what will come out of that, after months or maybe a year of work, will be a set of recommendations, which will then talk to us about how we would actually implement Vision Zero,” he said. “But I think the first step is to bring the partners together and have that meaningful conversation through a task force model led by the City of New Westminster.”
Community groups onboard
At Monday night’s meeting, representatives from several groups urged council to support the motion, including HUB Cycling New Westminster, the Walkers Caucus, and the New Westminster District Parents Advisory Council.
Laura Kwong, DPAC chair, said the group offers its “enthusiastic support” for the Vision Zero task force. She said DPAC requests that youth voices be represented on the task force to ensure the city designs policies and infrastructure with their needs in mind.
“Whether walking, biking, using transit or being passengers and vehicles, young people are among the most vulnerable road users,” she said. “Tragically, they are disproportionately impacted by unsafe traffic conditions, especially around schools, and their lived experiences provide a unique and valuable perspective that must be at the table as we work towards Vision Zero.”
Michael Hall spoke in support of the task force on behalf of Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders, a group of transit riders, professionals, and enthusiasts fighting to make transit better in Metro Vancouver. He said every transit rider begins and ends their trip as a pedestrian.
“The city's active transportation plan and the bus speed and reliability plan and other measures like streetscapes and walking infrastructure are key tools for Vision Zero. By that, I mean a lot of Vision Zero work is already happening,” he said. “So, I want to thank council and staff for their choice of today, and I hope this work can continue at a rapid pace. Break the speed limit on this one.”
Reena Meijer Drees, a member of the Walkers Caucus in New Westminster and Burnaby, said more than 3,000 vehicle crashes involving pedestrians occur annually in B.C.
“Of these, about 2,300 sustained injuries, and 53 pedestrians are killed every year. Every year, two children will die in a 30 kilometre school zone,” she said. “The rate of pedestrian injuries and deaths has not decreased in a decade. Compared to where to countries where Vision Zero is used, B.C. has four times the accident rate. So, this is completely unacceptable.”
According to Meijer Drees, car-on-car injuries and fatalities have been decreasing as cars themselves become safer for their occupants. She said that’s not the case for people outside of vehicles, noting that vehicles have become larger, quieter and heavier.
“Vision Zero is essentially this: designing roads that force drivers to slow down, roads that cause them to stop when pedestrians cross their lanes,” she said. “It's not about enforcement or education; it's about road design.”
Michelle Scarr, a volunteer with Vision Zero Vancouver, said Vision Zero, a strategy to end all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, originated in Sweden in the 1990s. She said it has spread across the world and has been achieved in cities that aren't that different from New West, like Hoboken, New Jersey.
“We often refer to the 100 annual deaths caused by car crashes in Metro Vancouver as accidents, but in reality, governments have the power to prevent traffic collisions and reduce their severity,” she said. “Every death and serious injury from our transportation system is not only a tragedy for the family and friends of the person involved, it is traumatic for communities. It has massive economic costs and significant taxpayer spending on emergency response and long-term health care.”
Scarr said Vision Zero Vancouver is particularly excited about New Westminster’s Vision Zero motion because it is not going to look at a singular aspect of the city’s transportation system, but the system as a whole. The group supports the collaborative approach that is proposing to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders and community groups.
“This is fundamental to a Vision Zero strategy. We know that New West can't do this on their own, and there is much within the provincial and federal jurisdictions that must also change to end traffic-related deaths and serious injuries in the city, and we will continue to push for action at those levels of government,” she said. “We are very optimistic that New West will be a Canadian leader for Vision Zero, and that this task force will help accomplish it. Everyone deserves to move around in a safe manner, whether by walking, biking, rolling, riding public transit, or driving. We strongly endorse this motion.”
Task force composition
Johnstone’s motion suggested the Vision Zero task force could include – but not be limited to – representatives from the city’s engineering, fire, and police departments, ICBC, Fraser Health, TransLink, the Walkers Caucus, and the accessibility community.
After hearing from several delegations at Monday night’s meeting, Coun. Tasha Henderson proposed an amendment that the task force also include youth and representatives from the New Westminster School District HUB Cycling.
Coun. Paul Minhas put forward an amendment to Henderson’s amendment that Coun. Daniel Fontaine serve on the task force.
“I’d be very honoured to accept that, given it's a topic that is very near and dear to my heart as well,” Fontaine said.
Henderson said she’s supportive of Fontaine being appointed to the committee but questioned if that would preclude Johnstone from serving on the task force.
“I was hoping that this would be the place for you to direct all your Vision Zero love,” she said.
Johnstone said he intends to chair the task force.
“I didn't anticipate we would actually be naming members to this task force during this meeting,” he said. “I thought we would actually do a bit of a preliminary terms of reference and come back to do that assignment work. But it's still perfectly valid to do that right now.”
In a 4-2 vote, council approved Minhas’s amendment to an amendment to appoint Fontaine to the task force. Councillors Jaimie McEvoy and Ruby Campbell voted in opposition.
Campbell said the terms of reference have not been done, so more information will be forthcoming about city staff and council members who will serve on the task force.
“None of this has been workshopped, and I'd hate for us to presume that now it's only going to be one councillor … It could be multiple councillors or not; I don't know,” she said. “I just want to make sure that staff have that leeway.”
Lisa Leblanc, acting chief administrative officer, said staff will take this motion away and prepare a report (within three meetings) outlining the work required to respond to the motion. She said the report would include information about “next steps” in the process of establishing the Vision Zero task force and budgetary and staff-related implications.
“It's the beginning of some work, but we've got more work to do when it's coming back to council,” Johnstone said.
Council unanimously supported the motion to establish a Vision Zero task force.
