The city’s most recent iteration of its multimodal transportation plan adopted in 2023 strives to make the city’s transportation network so safe that zero fatalities or serious injuries occur. But presently, some recommendations in the plan are just that – recommendations.
Now, Durango city councilors are showing interest in exploring a Vision Zero policy that would turn those recommendations into requirements.
Councilor Shirley Gonzales requested a resolution enacting a Vision Zero policy at a meeting June 16. She said such a policy would allow Durango’s Transportation Department to seek grants and technical support for implementing traffic safety strategies.
At a study session earlier this month, Gonzales said the city had never implemented a Vision Zero resolution, although it is the first objective under safety in the city’s multimodal transportation plan.
Multimodal Manager Lily Oswald said a Vision Zero policy would benefit the speed management plan by giving speed management strategies teeth and improving the city’s grant applications.
Oswald said the city applied for a $10 million Safe Streets and Roads for All grant specifically for the planned Camino Crossing, an underpass connecting the east and west sides of Camino del Rio near 12th Street. Residents have requested the underpass in one form or another for decades because Camino del Rio is considered so unsafe to cross.
The SS4A grant application specifically asks if an applicant municipality has adopted a Vision Zero goal, Oswald said.
“It won’t necessarily hinder our application too much, but it is an opportunity for us to be more competitive in the future,” she said.
On a related note, Oswald said traffic calming demonstration projects that were postponed last year because Federal Highway Administration funding was not received are going to be implemented soon on Riverview Drive and Goeglein Gulch Road, after the city received grant funds in the spring.
“These demonstrations are aimed to test speed reduction effectiveness, road maintenance impacts, emergency service access, potential for broader implementation and to collect data and test different scenarios on different street classifications,” she said.
The demonstrations will be up for about 12 weeks or three months.
At the last regular City Council meeting, four of five councilors showed support for a future study session about the budgetary pros and cons of adopting a Vision Zero policy. Councilor Gilda Yazzie voted against holding another meeting on the topic.
“I would like to know positives, negatives, costs, anything that’s coming in there,” Councilor Jessika Loyer said.
Gonzales said the city seems like it is close to meeting a Vision Zero definition, but adopting a formal policy would give staff members direction and more ability to get additional project funding.
“We have a plan developed, and right now what that is, is just recommendations. If you adopt a policy it would make it a requirement that it follows Vision Zero, which could impact financially on projects,” City Manager José Madrigal said. “But if this was a resolution that moved forward, obviously there would be a staff presentation that would say making these recommendations to requirements would have these types of effects and then the council can decide.”
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