Item - 2020.IE11.12

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1.  Requested the General Manager, Transportation Services to report by the fourth quarter of 2020 on revising the process for determining which schools are allocated Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras including:

a.  consulting with the local councillor prior to the assignment of Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras in their ward; and

b.  examining the viability of prioritizing schools that are on major arterial roads for the installation of  Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras in their school safety zone.

The purpose of this report is to respond to two requests made by City Council concerning accelerating the roll-out of Vision Zero in school safety zones; including:

a.  investigating opportunities for allowing in-year acceleration when other projects are delayed; and

b.  presenting costed options for accelerating roll-out.

No loss of life as a result of traffic collisions is acceptable in a Vision Zero approach, and addressing road safety is a priority for residents, elected officials and staff.  A key focus of the Council adopted Vision Zero 2.0 strategy is a renewed emphasis on data-driven decision making and prioritization. This focus involves directing funding and staff resources to the locations and programs which are most likely to reduce Killed and Serious Injury collisions.

Currently, the number of Killed and Serious Injury collisions in the immediate vicinity of schools is significantly less than impacts to school aged youth along arterial roadways outside of school zones. Yet, at this time 60 percent of the Vision Zero budget is spent in the immediate vicinity of schools.

Schools are typically located on local roadways with lower speeds, lower traffic volumes and shorter crossings. The safety of school-aged children and of all road users is better addressed through targeted improvements to arterial roadways where traffic volumes and travel speeds are higher and where the majority of people who are involved in crashes are killed or seriously injured.

In the past five years, approximately 23 percent of Killed and Serious Injury collisions among school-age children and 15 percent of overall Killed and Serious Injury collisions have occurred in the immediate vicinity of schools. At this time, 60 percent of the overall Road Safety Plan budget is dedicated to delivering safety measures in the immediate vicinity of schools. Therefore, accelerating the rate of School Safety Zone delivery is not aligned with the Council approved and data-driven Vision Zero 2.0 Strategy towards eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries rapidly among school-age children and all road users across the city. Transportation Services' approach is to continue to deliver school zone safety improvements city-wide, consistent with the existing schedule and accelerate the delivery of Vision Zero improvements along arterial roads.

The report outlines limitations with acceleration of the School Safety Zone program and highlights various other programs and initiatives within the Council approved Vision Zero 2.0 Strategy that are underway such as the Speed Management Strategy, road design improvements, pedestrian head start signals, and proactively addressing high-risk mid-block crossings which more effectively improve safety outcomes for all road users, including school-age children.

Acceleration and enhancement of these Road Safety Plan programs are reflected in the proposed 2020 - 2029 Capital Budget and Plan for Transportation Services.