title
ADOPT RESOLUTION TO ADOPT THE CITY OF STOCKTON VISION ZERO ACTION PLAN (CITYWIDE)
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution to adopt the City of Stockton Vision Zero Action Plan.
It is also recommended that the City Manager be authorized to take appropriate and necessary actions to carry out the purpose and intent of this resolution.
body
Summary
On December 5, 2023, by Resolution No. 2023-12-05-1213, Council authorized the City Manager to execute a Grant Agreement for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program with the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The Grant Agreement provided funding to prepare the City’s first Vision Zero Action Plan (VZAP). On June 18, 2024, by Resolution No. 2024-06-18-1216, Council authorized the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Contract with Fehr & Peers to assist the Public Works Department in the preparation of the VZAP.
An extensive public engagement and planning effort was conducted to inform the VZAP. The VZAP identifies safety focus areas and establishes proposed projects, programs, and actions to reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries by 50 percent by 2040 and eliminate them by 2050 in Stockton.
It is recommended that Council adopt a resolution to adopt the City of Stockton VZAP.
DISCUSSION
Background
Traffic injuries and deaths across the U.S. represent a persistent public health crisis. According to Smart Growth America’s 2026 Dangerous by Design report, pedestrian deaths have increased by 72 percent since 2009. To tackle this crisis, agencies across the country have begun adopting a Safe System Approach to achieving Vision Zero, a goal of zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries. The U.S. Department of Transportation and the State of California have committed to the Safe System Approach, which acknowledges that mistakes are inevitable while also asserting that severe injuries and fatalities are avoidable. This shift in thinking focuses on integrating safety intentionally throughout the policy, planning, operations, and maintenance of the transportation system.
The City, with over 300,000 residents, has a robust transportation network with many roadway safety challenges. Roadway corridors must share the right-of-way among vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians. The Stockton-Lodi metro area has ranked high in pedestrian collisions. Consequently, achieving safe accommodation for all users is challenging, especially for non-motor vehicle users. In 2022, to address these safety concerns, the City submitted an application for the SS4A grant to develop a VZAP.
On February 7, 2023, the grant application was approved for federal funding in the amount of $646,000. On December 5, 2023, by Resolution No. 2023-12-05-1213, Council authorized the City Manager to execute a Grant Agreement under the federal Fiscal Year 2022 SS4A grant program with the U.S. Department of Transportation FHWA to prepare the City’s first VZAP.
On June 18, 2024, by Resolution No. 2024-06-18-1216, Council authorized the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Contract with Fehr & Peers to assist the Public Works Department in the preparation of the VZAP.
Present Situation
Over the course of almost two years, Public Works and Fehr & Peers staff engaged in a substantial community engagement and planning effort to develop the VZAP. The VZAP establishes a comprehensive, safety-focused framework to eliminate roadway fatalities and serious injuries in Stockton by adopting the Vision Zero philosophy and Safe System Approach. This approach recognizes that human error is inevitable but that severe crashes are preventable through coordinated improvements to roads, vehicles, speeds, and post-crash care. The VZAP sets a clear vision of an equitable, harm-free transportation system for users of all ages and abilities, with a target to reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries by 50 percent by 2040 and eliminate them by 2050 in Stockton. To guide implementation, the City outlines goals focused on safer roadway design, policy changes that prioritize safety over vehicle throughput, investment in multimodal infrastructure, and addressing systemic barriers that limit safe travel.
The VZAP is grounded in detailed analysis of local crash data and community engagement. Between 2018 and 2022, Stockton experienced 466 collisions resulting in death or serious injury, with people walking and bicycling disproportionately affected. Key patterns identified include the role of unsafe speeds, conflicts at crossings, nighttime conditions, and gaps in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Community input reinforced concerns about speeding, unsafe intersections, missing sidewalks, and inadequate lighting, while also expressing strong support for traffic calming, improved crossings, and safer multimodal infrastructure.
To address these challenges, the VZAP identifies a network of “Safety Corridors” where investments would have the greatest impact, focusing on locations with the highest concentrations of serious crashes. A range of short- and long-term improvements is proposed for each Priority Safety Corridor. The improvements include roadway redesigns, protected bicycle lanes, intersection upgrades, traffic calming measures, and signal timing changes. These project improvements are coupled with programmatic actions such as education, data tracking, and cross-departmental coordination. Ultimately, the VZAP outlines a multi-pronged implementation framework that combines infrastructure, policy, and community engagement to institutionalize safety and create a transportation system that is safer, more equitable, and more sustainable over time.
It is recommended that Council adopt a resolution to adopt the City of Stockton VZAP.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
There is no impact to the City’s General Fund or any other unrestricted fund as a result of taking the recommended actions.