The West Hollywood City Council established a goal of eliminating fatalities and severe injuries from traffic collisions on the City’s roadways. Target Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all. First implemented in Sweden in the 1990s, Vision Zero has proved successful across Europe – and is now gaining more momentum in many cities throughout the United States and locally in Los Angeles County.

The City of West Hollywood worked with transportation consultants at DKS Associates to develop a vision zero action plan with feedback from a taskforce of City of West Hollywood Advisory Board Members and Commissioners, relevant City Boards and Commissions more broadly, and the general public. The project team analyzed existing conditions, conducted public outreach, developed focus areas for mitigation strategies based on historical collision data, and identified specific priority locations to focus early efforts to reduce collisions. These findings were refined with feedback from several stakeholder groups as well as both Los Angeles County Fire Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff Department personnel.

The WeHo Target Vision Zero Action Plan was formally adopted by the West Hollywood City Council on December 18, 2023. Anyone who lives, works, or spends time in West Hollywood is encouraged to review the plan and provide feedback to inform the implementation of the proposed safety improvements recommended in the plan.

In late 2022 and early 2023, community members were invited to share any safety concerns or problem areas they’re aware of through the City’s interactive online map promoted through a City press release, distribution to City email lists, and City social media posts. Pop-Up in-person outreach activities were held at the City’s West Hollywood Day Reception and Winter Wonderland events in late 2022. Staff presented the project to the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in January and May 2023. To date, over 400 public comments were received through the online mapping tool. The staff and consultant team compared public comments to historical collision data to augment the analysis of historical collision data. To date, this general public feedback was supplemented by feedback from the following boards, commissions, and community groups:

• WeHo Target Vision Zero Taskforce
• West Hollywood Transportation Commission
• West Hollywood Public Facilities, Recreation, and Infrastructure Commission
• West Hollywood Disabilities Advisory Board
• West Hollywood Older Adults Advisory Board
• West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee
• Los Angeles County Fire Department Personnel
• Los Angeles County Sheriff Department Personnel

From 2017 to 2021, there were 3,140 reported collisions in West Hollywood, of which 78 resulted in severe injuries and four were fatal (SWITRS). The map below shows the geographic distribution of collisions in West Hollywood from 2017 to 2021. Collisions were more common on major roadways like Santa Monica Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, and Melrose Avenue, as well as at intersections. The table below shows how overall fatal and severe injury collisions (KSI) compare between nearby jurisdictions and the state average. Killed or seriously injured (KSI) is a standard metric for safety policy, particularly in transportation and road safety. The annual per capita rate of KSI collisions in West Hollywood is similar to the Cities of Los Angeles and Culver City and slightly below the statewide average but well above the nearby Cities of Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.

Note: A one-page update on trends in more recent crash data from 2022 is included in the document library at the right side (desktop) or bottom (mobile) of this page.

To organize proposed strategies to address fatal and severe injury collisions (KSI), the staff and consultant team developed emphasis areas based on trends in the data.

Pedestrians: 40% of KSI Crashes

Bicycles & Scooters*: 10% of KSI Crashes

Motorcycles: 24% of KSI Crashes

*The 10% figure comes from crashes that involved bicyclists as crash data in California does not specifically identify scooters. However, because scooters are typically rented and may travel at speeds faster than pedestrian and bicycle travel, crashes involving them can result in serious injuries or fatalities. They are included in the same emphasis area here as bicycles here as most mitigation measures that improve bicyclist safety also improve safety for scooter riders, so these user groups are combined in the emphasis areas below.

Vulnerable users accounted for 74% of KSI collisions in the city distributed among pedestrians (40% of KSI), bicyclists (10% of KSI), and motorcyclists (24% of KSI).

Speeding: 6% of KSI Crashes

Impaired Driving: 5% of KSI Crashes

Crashes resulting from risky behaviors were also significant, with speeding and impaired driving accounting for 6% and 5% of KSI, respectively.

Intersections: 93% of KSI Crashes

Finally, the dense grid of West Hollywood streets results in the vast majority of serious crashes (93% of KSI) occurring at intersections rather than midblock

Note: A one-page update on trends in more recent crash data from 2022, and the changes in the proportion of crashes within each of these emphasis areas, is included in the document library at the right side (desktop) or bottom (mobile) of this page.

The adopted WeHo Target Vision Zero Action Plan recommends general mitigation strategies to help address these emphasis areas Citywide. Proposed general mitigation strategies include:

Installing infrastructure improvements that increase driver awareness of vulnerable road users and reduce conflict zones between vehicles and vulnerable road users

• In-roadway Warning Lights
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• Raised Crosswalks
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• All-directional or "Scramble" Crosswalks
  
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Improving infrastructure connectivity for vulnerable road users

• Upgrading existing bike corridors with safer protected bike lanes wherever feasible
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Implementing infrastructure improvements to calm traffic and reduce speeds

• Bulb-outs (a.k.a Curb Extensions)
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• Traffic Circles
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Managing Speeds

• Exploring reducing speed limits citywide or on key corridors based on new authority granted by recent legislation
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• Advocating for legislative authority to explore automated speed cameras (something currently restricted to six cities around the state)

Implementing high-visibility enforcement campaigns

• Pairing new education and targeted enforcement programs with infrastructure
• Exploring partnering with the Sheriff's Department, TNC Operators, and local businesses to facilitate a safe ride-home program
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Expanding Education and Awareness Campaigns

• Implementing targeted education and public awareness campaigns
• Partnering with advocacy groups to promote safe behaviors and awareness
• Partnering with local businesses and organizations on educational efforts and campaigns along hot spot corridors
• Exploring/developing safe routes to school and safe routes for seniors

The likelihood of fatality increases exponentially with vehicle speed (NACTO City Limits: Setting Safe Speed Limits on Urban Streets).

Another common factor among fatal and severe-injury crashes was their location along corridors with higher speed limits. Corridors that accounted for the majority of the City’s fatal and severe injury collisions also tended to be corridors where posted speed limits were higher. For example, Santa Monica Boulevard (west of Holloway Drive), Sunset Boulevard, Melrose Avenue, Crescent Heights Boulevard, Fairfax Avenue, La Brea Avenue, and Fountain Avenue all have posted speed limits of 35 mph, the highest in the City. The map below illustrates current speed limits and fatal and severe injury crash concentration. While the City’s 2023 speed survey did recommend speed limit reductions on Fairfax Avenue and portions of Fountain Avenue, speed limits on the remainder of these corridors remain unchanged.

Map of Proposed WeHo Target Vision Zero Priority Locations

In addition to general citywide mitigation measures, specific locations were identified where crashes were more likely to result in fatalities or severe injuries to help focus more targeted, location-specific interventions going forward. To develop a priority location list, crash locations across the city were first ranked by the frequency of collisions overall and then by the frequency and severity of collisions with fatal crashes weighted more heavily than severe injury crashes. Unsurprisingly, intersections along higher volume and larger commercial streets were revealed to be the most hazardous locations overall, including various locations along Santa Monica Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Fountain Avenue, La Cienega Boulevard, and Melrose Avenue.

To supplement this analysis, locations where severe incidents frequently involved more vulnerable users like pedestrians and bicyclists, or where behavioral factors like speeding and drunk driving were more prevalent, were also given special consideration. To accomplish this, the top locations where these targeted collision factors were frequently involved in crashes were also incorporated into the priority listing.

From this initial list, locations on Fountain Avenue, Melrose Avenue, and La Cienega Boulevard at Rosewood Avenue were excluded from more detailed analysis as part of the Vision Zero process at this time as major reconstructions or safety projects are already being designed or are under construction. Like all Vision Zero locations, ongoing safety on these corridors and locations will be evaluated in the future as planned safety upgrades are implemented and further adjustments will be made as needed.

The WeHo Target Vision Zero Action Plan was adopted on December 18, 2023. The adopted plan, as well as a summary of trends in updated crash data from 2022, is available in the Document Library on the right (desktop) or bottom (mobile) of this page. Residents and stakeholders are encouraged to review the recommendations of the plan and provide any additional comments in the form below to inform upcoming efforts to implement it.