The Mobility Plan’s “key policy initiatives” all steer the city in a new direction, one in which the car is no longer the be-all and end-all of transportation, including:
- - Establishing new standards for streets design that “will provide safe and efficient transportation for pedestrians (especially for vulnerable users such as children, seniors and the disabled), bicyclists, transit riders, and car and truck drivers.”
- - Using data to make transportation decisions, with safety, public health, and equity as top criteria.
- - Linking land use and transportation policy.
- - Making equity a prime consideration in transportation planning.
- - Reducing greenhouse gas emissions “through a more sustainable transportation system.”
- - Expanding “the role of the street as a public place.”
The plan also calls for a “Vision Zero” approach to reducing traffic fatalities and serious injuries. Currently, according to the city’s figures, more than 36,000 city residents are injured or killed in motor vehicle crashes each year.
Fundamentally, the plan moves away from level of service (LOS) to the vehicle miles travelled (VMT) with the goal of reducing the number of miles driven by the city’s residents. This LOS/VMT replacement is in line with California's movement as already reported last month in this website.
