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The Dallas City Council committee received a briefing on the status of the city’s “Vision Zero” road safety plan on Tuesday, but the session left many questions unanswered.
Council members had requested the briefing following an NBC 5 investigation that highlighted documents suggesting limited progress on critical steps aimed at reducing traffic fatalities and injuries in the city.
In November, NBC 5 Investigates obtained a draft copy of a Vision Zero progress report indicating only a few action items had been completed, with many listed as “in progress” or not yet started.
During Tuesday’s briefing, Dallas Transportation Director Gus Khankarli declined to provide specifics on the completion status of these action items since November. He stated that detailed information would be shared during a forthcoming briefing with the entire council next month.
Some council members expressed frustration at the lack of detailed information provided during the briefing. District 5 Councilmember Jaime Resendez voiced concerns that the public might perceive delays in hearing concrete steps.
Khankarli emphasized that the transportation department is actively progressing on the Vision Zero plan by conducting traffic studies and redesigning city streets with high fatality rates.
There were indications during the briefing that additional resources might be allocated to Vision Zero soon. Khankarli suggested that council members might allocate some of their discretionary funds, totaling approximately $5 million each, toward the Vision Zero program in a 2024 bond package.
In a recent interview, Councilmember Paula Blackmon stated her intention to allocate half of her discretionary funds to Vision Zero-style improvements, emphasizing the importance of addressing walkability issues and missing crosswalks in Dallas neighborhoods.
One significant walkability challenge highlighted during the briefing is the absence of crosswalks in certain Dallas neighborhoods. Khankarli mentioned hesitancy in restriping crosswalks at intersections lacking ADA-compliant curbs for proper wheelchair access.
Under questioning from council members, Khankarli reiterated the department’s commitment to utilizing Vision Zero strategies to address Dallas’ high traffic death rate, the highest among America’s 10 largest cities.
Despite the city’s commitment to Vision Zero principles since 2019, Dallas is not yet recognized as a national Vision Zero Network member. Khankarli stated the city is implementing Vision Zero principles and will refine its plan to align with the program network’s objectives.