A day after NBC 5 Investigates questioned why a plan to cut traffic deaths in Dallas has stalled, Dallas city council members are calling for more accountability.
They've requested a briefing from city staff to find out what's happened.
At a transportation committee meeting Tuesday, several city council members said they had a lot of questions, so many, that they now want a full council briefing on the issue. Their questions include some of the same questions NBC 5 Investigates raised about a lack of progress on a city traffic safety plan called “Vision Zero.”
Our investigation found that in the city of Dallas alone, traffic crashes have killed more than 1,000 people in less than five years and severely injured over 5,500.
“Vision Zero” was supposed to help change that. The strategy assumes drivers will make mistakes, and crashes will happen. But it also assumes roads can be re-designed in ways to reduce high speeds and thereby reduce the chances that a crash will cause serious injury or death.
Four years ago, the council first gave it a green light.
"I'm really happy to see our city go towards making this commitment," said Adam Bazaldua, Dallas City Council member during a 2019 meeting when the plan was first discussed.
“Vision Zero” involves not only increased traffic enforcement but also efforts to identify and re-design the city's most dangerous streets. Tuesday, council members said they want to know why they are not seeing more efforts to accomplish that.
"We need to be more intentional about completing this plan and making sure that it's something that works across the city," said Zarin Gracey, Dallas City Council member.
A 2023 “Vision Zero” progress report NBC 5 Investigates obtained showed few action items completed and many marked as “not started.”
After we questioned why, the city's transportation department released an updated version of that report. However, the report still shows that out of 40 action items this year, just nine were completed, 24 are in progress and seven have not been started. Tuesday, some transportation committee members questioned that.
“If the goal is to complete this by the end of the year, I'm wondering why we are where we are,” said Jaime Resendez, Dallas City Council member.
The committee has now requested a briefing at a full council meeting where they can ask staff about the amount of time passed and the lack of items completed.
Newly elected council member Jaynie Schultz wants to accelerate “Vision Zero.”
“Too much time. Way too much time. And I think it's a matter of having the right champions," said Schultz. “I think each plan needs its champions. And right now, we have the right people around the horseshoe who are really going to push this forward."
City staff told NBC 5 Investigates that even though the council took the first “Vision Zero” steps in 2019, it took nearly three years to form an action plan.
“We didn't actually get funding from the city council until October of 2022. And so really we're just now from an implementation perspective approaching the one-year line,” said Kathryn Rush the city's chief transportation planner.
Some council members said the city can't wait more years. One member told us he is motivated by the maps NBC 5 Investigates created, showing the location of every traffic death and injury over the last five years.
North Texas Fatality and Serious Injury Crashes 2019-Oct. 4, 2023
Using data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, NBC 5 Investigates mapped every fatal and serious injury crash in north Texas. TXDOT captures data from Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Reports (CR-3). TXDOT requires law enforcement to report “Any crash involving a motor vehicle in transport that occurs or originates on a traffic way, results in injury to or death of any person, or damage to the property of any one person to the apparent extent of $1,000.” The data compiled in this map is from January 1, 2019 through October 4, 2023.
Map: Annetta Stogniew/NBC
Source: Texas Department of Transportation
“While we're being a little bit relaxed, people are still dying. People are still having these major wrecks,” said Gracey. “Again, I just keep seeing those red and yellow dots all over that place.”
“Life is very precious to anyone. You know, you don't want to lose a loved one because we hesitate, because we think the urgent situation. It is urgent,” said City Council Member Tennell Atkins.
Council members also said they want more information about what's working to reduce deaths in other cities.
In a report airing Thursday night on NBC5 News at 10pm NBC5 Investigates travels to another county to visit a city that has fully embraced Vision Zero, and has seen traffic deaths decline by 50%.
KNOW A DANGEROUS STRETCH OF ROAD?
We need your help. If you’ve identified a road where drivers speed or where there have been a large number of crashes, email us the location at iSee@nbcdfw.com. In future reports, we’ll ask local leaders how we can address the problem in other areas.
