Can DC learn from Hoboken’s Vision Zero success?

The District recently released an update on its Vision Zero policy that seeks to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2024. Traffic fatalities in DC have risen during each of the past three years and the report notes that progress has “fallen short” of the ambitious goal set back in 2015.

DC’s statistics are consistent with a discouraging trend seen nationwide in recent years of increased traffic deaths. One city, however, has stood out with zero traffic deaths in the last four years to the acclaim of urbanist media and even US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. The city? Hoboken, New Jersey.

To get this out of the way, no, Hoboken is not your typical American city. Hoboken is tiny, dense, and most residents walk or take mass transit to get to work. But those traits also describe our own Ward 2 which includes downtown DC. And despite fairly similar populations (53k in Hoboken to Ward 2’s 77k), there have been 21 road deaths* in Ward 2 since 2018 compared to zero in Hoboken. Even that report is inaccurate, as it doesn’t include these deaths that occurred at Hains Point on a National Park Service road.

Hoboken is doing something right.

One of the keys to Hoboken’s success? Daylighting, the practice of increasing visibility by removing on-street parking that blocks sightlines near intersections. Hoboken leaders have pursued a policy of ensuring 25 feet of car-free space from its intersections to help achieve safer streets.

And whether you are on foot pushing a baby in a stroller or in a car inching out to see whether you can safely turn onto a busy road, visibility on the street is something that impacts us all.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is responsible for the parking signs that determine how much or little visibility each intersection offers. Last year DDOT promoted daylighting on social media and you can find examples of it all over the city.

Public art can be used in daylighting as we see at the beginning of this article at U Street and 1st Street NW.

But DDOT’s daylighting implementation is not universal and sometimes improvements come only after a fatal tragedy. This was the case when DDOT removed four parking spaces at the intersection of M Street, 21st Street, and New Hampshire Avenue NW in 2018 soon after 36-year-old bicyclist Jeffrey Hammond Long was killed after being struck by a truck driver there.

DC has roughly 7,000 intersections, according to DDOT (Hoboken only has a few hundred) so despite improvements, DC has a long way to daylight intersections citywide. This intersection at New Hampshire Avenue and R Street NW, for example, allows vehicles to park right up to the pedestrian crosswalk.

Other intersections typically have about one vehicle’s length worth of space protected, far less than Hoboken’s 25 feet. And that small space usually does not have planters or bollards that deter illegal parking, such as this example at Morton Street and Georgia Avenue NW.

One obstacle to more daylighting is some residents oppose the removal of parking spaces even if they would make for safer streets. But here DC has a useful tool that Hoboken has relied on to implement daylighting: existing city regulations. Like Hoboken, DC regulation prohibits parking a car within 25 feet of the intersection. DDOT says they are aggressively working to implement this law already on the books.

When asked for comment on agency policy, DDOT Director Everett Lott said, “DDOT wholeheartedly supports intersection daylighting and is implementing it along with many other safety measures for roadway projects across all eight wards of the District.”

What you can do to help make our streets safer

Citywide daylighting will help but it alone will not get us to zero traffic deaths. So what can be done to make things better here in DC?

While there is no pending daylighting-specific legislation before the DC Council, there are a few proposed bills that could help make our streets safer:

Safe Passage to School Expansion Act of 2021

Establishes the Office of Safe Passage reporting to the Mayor and related efforts to increase safe transportation near schools, including infrastructure improvements such as raised crosswalks, curb extensions, flashing pedestrian signs, and speed bumps.

Prioritizing People in Planning Amendment Act of 2022

Changes the priority of certain road projects to put safety and climate-friendly transit at the top.

Speed Management on Arterials (SMART) Signage Amendment Act of 2022

Slower speeds and more signage to alert drivers to the speed limit and enforcement cameras on DC’s busiest roads.

The passage of these bills will help make current and future daylighting practices more effective. However, with a new council calendar starting in January, all of these bills would have to be re-introduced and the legislative process restarted. Additionally, these bills are also subject to a 30-day Congressional review window when they are passed before they can be completely ratified.

However, you can also join advocacy groups like DC Families for Safe Streets and the Washington Area Bicyclists Association, who keep track of these bills and public hearing calendars and those for other governing bodies of the region. They also provide opportunities to come together to strategize and advocate for these issues even when there’s no pending legislation or action.

Finally, if there’s a particular intersection you want to see benefit from daylighting, DDOT has a process for residents to request new street signs. It might take time (DDOT says about four to six months), but Hoboken shows us that sustained and thoughtful efforts can make a difference and save lives.