Vision Zero in Los Angeles and San Francisco

From Curbed Los Angeles:

...Data released last month by LA’s Department of Transportation show that, in 2018, at least 240 people died in collisions.

City officials have long argued that public awareness of traffic safety issues is lacking, and permanent memorial signs (most of Gamboa’s ghost bikes are treated by the city as temporary installations) could shine a light on LA’s high rate of crash deaths.A sample memorial sign. City of Los Angeles

At a meeting of the City Council’s transportation committee last month, councilmembers Mike Bonin and Nury Martinez recommended that, to drive that message home further the city should also mount signs memorializing pedestrians killed in collisions.

But that proposal is a work in progress. Transportation general manager Seleta Reynolds told the committee that the department may need to design an alternative program for pedestrians due to the enormous number of people killed while walking each year.

“One hundred fifty pedestrians die on our streets every year; a much smaller number—15 or so—bicyclists do,” said Reynolds. “In order for us to put together a memorial program that’s respectful and on the same level...we would want to just consider what that would look like.”

Under the new program, memorials for bicyclists would be created at the request of a victim’s family members and would offer drivers a short directive (“watch your speed” or “don’t text and drive,” for instance), followed by a bicycle image and the victim’s name.

Gamboa says simplicity is effective in roadside memorials as an entry point to a larger conversation about the ways that Los Angeles’s streets are designed, and how to create an environment that’s safer for people who aren’t driving.

“The goal is to start a dialogue,” he says. “So we can start working toward real solutions to this problem.”

Rob's comment:

How are we doing in SF? Better than L.A. and more or less as you would expect, when you look at the city's numbers in this study (pages 4-7) that puts traffic deaths in San Francisco in historical context. 

But we will never get to zero---by 2024 or any other year. See Please cut the crap on Vision Zero.

How are we doing?

Trump's low approval numbers

Trump and his pal

Trump Approval Plummets In Five Key Swing States

by Oliver Willis

Trump’s approval rating has fallen double digits in five key states that he won since the election. The data shows that in addition to his overall poor approval Trump faces electoral college headwinds before the 2020 election.

In Morning Consult’s most recent survey, Trump is down in the following swing states: Florida (-24 points), Ohio (-20), Michigan (-19), Wisconsin (-18), and Pennsylvania (-17).

In 2016, Trump won all of those states, which together represent 93 electoral votes. Trump’s electoral vote margin of victory was 74 points that year.

By recent comparison, President Barack Obama defeated John McCain by 192 electoral votes in 2008 and Obama beat Mitt Romney by 126 electoral votes in 2012.

Trump also lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes.

Since being sworn in, Trump has never had the support of 50 percent or more of the American people when national polls are averaged.

Even in states where he is likely to win re-election, like Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Wyoming, Trump has seen steep double-digit declines in support.

The poor showing could very well be the result of a presidency swimming in corruption, incompetence and bigotry. Trump’s sole major legislative accomplishment was the tax scam, which rewarded the uber-wealthy and giant corporations and has been resoundingly panned by average Americans.

With the aid of congressional leaders like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Trump has been able to pack federal courts and the Supreme Court with right-wing mediocrities of questionable moral character.

But Americans do not approve. In the first national election under Trump’s leadership, his party lost control of the House of Representatives by a national popular vote margin of over 9.7 million votes.

When Trump and his ideas are on the ballot, most voters vote against them. And now, in the states he will need the most to win a second term, he is under water.

For poll numbers updated daily see also FiveThirtyEight.