Vision Zero

VISION ZERO is a traffic safety initiative of the Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization.

According to county officials, Brevard has one of the highest pedestrian death rates in the nation! In the past five years, there have been 390 fatalities and 2, 825 serious injuries due to traffic crashes. Of those, 87 fatalities and 196 serious injures involved pedestrians or bicyclists. These results have raised serious concern, calling for strong, focused action.

In response, the SCTPO initiated VISION ZERO, which is a broad, multi-discipline, multi-agency effort with the objective of reducing fatalities and serious injuries to zero.

On 14 May 2020, the SCTPO Board of Governors convened for a "virtual meeting" (due to Corona Virus restrictions). The Board of Governors consists of some Brevard County Commissioners, several Brevard city mayors, city council members, city managers, etc. The SCTPO graciously allows time for public comments at these meetings. Since this was a "virtual meeting", citizens were allowed to email comments so that staff could read them aloud during the meeting. The message below was read aloud to the Board of Governors.

Message to SCTPO BOG

Here is a link to the recording of this message being read to the SCTPO BOG:

Message being read to SCTPO BOG

HAZARDS REPORTED TO

VISION ZERO

The items below are the actual hazard reports submitted to the SCTPO Vision Zero project.

Heritage Oaks/Minton Intersection
The intersection of Heritage Oaks/Minton is already hazardous, A county study quotes school crossing guards there as saying "they are almost hit by vehicles daily". The city is planning road extensions that will make this worse. According to a city's own traffic study, the extensions will induce heavy cut-through traffic because drivers will want "to avoid the more congested U.S. 192 and Minton Road intersection". Cut-through traffic is notorious for speeding, reckless driving, and accidents. So an intersection that is hazardous is going to become more hazardous. There are similar concerns about the impact on Henry Avenue. The county also has culpability because it is funding the project via transportation impact fees. The project needs to be canceled now.

More info, including FAQ, maps, studies, analyses, videos, and citizen concerns about safety are available here: https://www.saynotodoherty.com/

Henry Avenue/Doherty Drive Intersection
The new intersection planned for Henry Avenue/Doherty Drive is a nightmare in the making. Henry already experiences heavy congestion that often blocks access to up to five side streets.

See video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSholYcoaGw

The city has acknowledged this problem and has put an ineffective band-aid on it by posting several signs on the side of the street and on the road surface. But the city is planning road extensions that will make this problem even worse. According to the city's own traffic study, the extensions will induce heavy cut-through traffic via Henry because drivers will want "to avoid the more congested U.S. 192 and Minton Road intersection". Cut-through traffic is notorious for speeding, reckless driving, and accidents. The traffic study predicts Level of Service = F at the new intersection, but the city is not putting in a traffic light. Instead, the city is going to construct the extensions and intersections, and then conduct a traffic study to see if a traffic light is warranted. (The logic seems to be – let's build the bridge and see if it falls down; if it does, we'll build a stronger one.) Since the intersection is a school crossing, this is particularly vexing. So an area that is hazardous is going to become more hazardous. The county also has a responsibility here because it is funding the project via transportation impact fees. The project needs to be canceled now.

More info, including FAQ, maps, studies, analyses, videos, and citizen concerns about the issue are available here: https://www.saynotodoherty.com/

For the Vision Zero project, two hazard reports have been submitted related to a proposed road construction project in West Melbourne. The project would extend Heritage Oaks Boulevard to the east and extend Doherty Drive to the south, till they meet.

One of the hazard reports pertains to the new intersection planned for Henry Avenue and Doherty. Henry already experiences heavy congestion that often blocks access to up to five side streets. The city has acknowledged this problem and has put an ineffective band-aid on it by posting several signs on the side of the street and on the road surface. But the new road extensions would make this problem even worse. According to the city's traffic study, the extensions will induce heavy cut-through traffic via Henry because drivers will want "…to avoid the more congested U.S. 192 and Minton Road intersection …". Cut-through traffic is notorious for speeding, reckless driving, and accidents. The city is not bothering to put in a traffic light. Since the intersection is a school crossing, this is particularly vexing. So an area that is hazardous is going to become more hazardous.

The second hazard report pertains to the impact of the new road extensions on the intersection of Heritage Oaks and Minton. This intersection is already a hazardous school crossing. A county study quotes school crossing guards there as saying "…they are almost hit by vehicles daily…". Again, cut-through traffic, which is notorious for speeding, reckless driving, and accidents, will make this school crossing intersection even more hazardous.

At this time there is profound uncertainty about our economy, and therefore about the funding that will be available for transportation needs at the city, county, and state levels. This is not the time to be squandering funds on a project which is unnecessary (far less useful than the original design) and which in some ways would make our neighborhoods less safe. The funding should be held in reserve for essential, high-priority projects that enhance transportation safety.

The county also has some direct responsibility here because it is funding the project via transportation impact fees.

The project needs to be canceled now.

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