A $521.2 million bond package to improve streets and transportation across Dallas includes seven projects designed to improve traffic conditions through Vision Zero — a global initiative to end roadway fatalities.
Six of the $10.2 million projects are in Dallas City Council Districts 5 (Jaime Resendez), 9 (Paula Blackmon), and 14 (Paul Ridley). The remaining project is citywide in scope:
- District 5 ($65,324) — Implement countermeasures to address the causes of fatal and severe injury crashes on High Injury Network corridors and at high-injury locations.
- District 5 ($547,100) — Implement countermeasures to address the causes of fatal and severe injury crashes on High Injury Network corridors and at high-injury locations.
- District 9 ($619,500) — Implement recommendations from corridor studies.
- District 9 ($418,354) — Implement recommendations from corridor studies.
- District 14 ($86,592) — Implement improvements as recommended by the Abrams Corridor Study.
- District 14 ($500,000) — Implement safety improvements as recommended in the Skillman Avenue Transportation Corridor Study.
- Citywide ($8 million) — Implement countermeasures to address the causes of fatal and severe injury crashes on High Injury Network corridors and at high-injury locations.
The High Injury Networks include streets where a disproportionate number of severe crashes have been reported. Corridor studies are being or have been conducted in 25 areas. The average cost to taxpayers per study, which spans 10 months to two years, is $200,000.
During a council briefing on April 3, Director of Transportation Ghassan Khankarli presented a 67-page document detailing how Vision Zero is being deployed in Dallas, where officials’ goal is to “achieve zero traffic fatalities” and a 50% reduction in severe injuries sustained in traffic accidents by 2030.
Since 2019, more than 188,000 accidents have been reported in Dallas. Of those, just over 1,000 were fatal, and nearly 4,900 involved serious injuries. The Dallas City Council adopted Vision Zero in June 2022 and has since allocated $3.1 million of taxpayer money for the program.
“The strategy is based on the belief that no loss of life is acceptable and that all traffic fatalities and severe injuries are preventable,” according to a City news release.
“Vision Zero is a collaborative effort of each city department and all residents and road users of Dallas. The joint effort will help create a safer transportation culture across the city. The strategy shifts the approach from decades of vehicle-centric transportation planning and design to an urban design that makes streets easier to navigate.”
Other data included in the Vision Zero report shows:
- From 2019 to 2023, 53% of fatalities involved drivers of vehicles.
- Speed was the leading contributing factor in severe crashes (918) from 2019 to 2023.
- Since November 2022, more than 1,800 citations have been issued in the High Injury Network.
Early voting in the City’s $1.2 billion bond election continues through May 2. Election Day is May 4.
