Tell the DC Council to Fund Key Priorities in the Vision Zero Bill

This past year, people were killed because we failed to invest in a solution that is currently law. People were killed because we failed to implement a solution that is currently law. That law is the Vision Zero Enhancement Omnibus Amendment Act. And as it stands now, a law that can potentially save lives is not a priority in the Mayor’s budget, therefore the DC Council must show leadership and make it their priority. 

It has been well-documented that the District has seen an increase in speeding during the pandemic, and in 2020 we saw an increase in the number of people who lost their lives to traffic crashes compared to 2019. And these numbers could get worse if we don’t make significant investments in moving forward with funding and implementing the Vision Zero Enhancement Omnibus Amendment Act. 

In this year’s budget the Council can take the step to fund budget items in the Vision Zero Act that only require one-time funding. We specifically would like to highlight sections 3, 4, 5(b), 7(), 7(b), 7(c), 7(d), 7(e). 8, 9, 10, and 12 of the legislation for funding in the FY22 budget. Additionally, the Council should re-purpose $250,000 in the Mayor’s budget for vision zero public outreach and align it with the public outreach requirements of section 7(d) in the Vision Zero Act. 

We want to clearly state that is just part of what needs to be done to fully fund and implement the Vision Zero Act. Until the act is fully implemented, the Council must hold DDOT accountable, by requiring DDOT to be publicly transparent with how they plan to fully implement this act over the next few years.