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Vision Zero in Road Safety Grant Program in British Columbia

Author(s): Arason

Slidedeck Presentation:

Slide deck link

Abstract:

Context:

This new program works to address the gap between the number of proven low-cost road crash countermeasures that can protect vulnerable road users and the more limited extent to which these have been implemented in British Columbia.

As such, this initiative involved creating a vision zero grant program led by the BC Ministry of Health in partnership with the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

The two ministries worked together to create grant funding of $.55 million that is being made available to Regional Health Authorities to, in turn, fund local and Indigenous governments, NGOs and others to implement effective, low-cost road crash measures to protect VRUs and encourage more active modes of transport.

Objectives:

This will, in turn:

  1. Improve vulnerable road user outcomes over the immediate, near- and long-term through a variety of evidence-informed road design change measures.
  2. Decrease the number of vulnerable road users who access the health care system as a result of a road safety-related injury through innovative, immediate, low-cost changes to roadway environments
  3. Significantly reduce the occurrence of road crashes involving vulnerable road users leading to an associated positive impact on B.C.'s health care budget and patient flow.
  4. Address transport-related inequities through a focus on vulnerable lower socioeconomic communities, neighborhoods and populations.
  5. Support public education and road safety planning in smaller and Indigenous communities.
  6. Funding and resources for Indigenous, local governments or NGOs to create enhanced public spaces for active transport modes that transfers space currently reserved for cars to space for people to walk and cycle.
  7. Support overall provincial efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and align with the MoTI public goal of doubling active transport trips by 2030, by supporting more trips made by walking, cycling and public transport.
  8. Build on and leverage existing work, in-kind and financial contributions available from the regional health authorities, the Provincial Health Services Authority, First Nations Health Authority, MoTI and others.
  9. Build skills and expert capacity over the medium- and long-term across the health system and in local and Indigenous governments, in the field of road safety that can reasonably be expected to continue to deliver benefits that go beyond the scope of the individual grants

Target Group:

Local governments, Indigenous governments, Non-government organizations (NGOs), e.g., school districts, Parent Advisory Councils, road safety advocacy groups, etc.)

Activity(ies):

There are two streams that applicants may apply to under this Program as follows:

Stream #1 is for the design and installation of innovative, low-cost road improvements, temporary (pilot) or permanent, that increase the safety of vulnerable road users in smaller, remote and disadvantaged communities, in Indigenous communities and potentially some larger communities. This stream supports the cost of local projects, which may include traffic signal timing changes, traffic calming, in-roadway signs, raised crosswalks, solar powered speed feedback signs, rectangular rapid flashing beacons, innovative pavement markings, the use of curb extensions or bollards to reduce vehicle turning radius and thereby decrease vehicle speeds and the size of conflict zones. These projects require engineering department/local government administrator approval to proceed to construction and installation. These projects may focus on unsafe locations in neighborhoods or local areas with socioeconomic or other forms of disadvantage. Design and implementation of these projects are also frequently subject to further contributions by local and Indigenous governments in terms of professional services, labour and materials donated in-kind to supplement grants.

Stream #2 is for funding road safety improvements directed by Indigenous communities in keeping with the BC Government's commitment to reconciliation with respect to past harms and working with Indigenous governments in a government-to-government relationship, meaning that Indigenous communities set and direct their own priorities. Therefore stream #2 grants may include any items listed under stream #1, but also include other Indigenous-led road safety priorities, among them road safety planning, initiatives aimed to address specific problems such as driver training, impaired driving, community consultations, stakeholder engagement, public awareness, creation of a bike-share program, etc. These projects aim to meet the needs of Indigenous governments who will identify their own priorities and the types of initiatives that are most likely to make a positive road safety impact on vulnerable road users in their individual communities.

More information can be found at: https://injuryresearch.bc.ca/vision-zero-in-road-safety-grant-program/

Deliverables:

The deliverables associated with the program will involve approximately 35 specific projects that will meet the above objectives. This CARSP 2022 presentation will focus on the journey to create and launch this program and will feature what the new provincial program is expected to deliver while showcasing specific projects that were delivered in previous years by two regional health authorities who created independent grant programs - and inspired this provincial program - but before this province-wide approach was launched.

Conclusions: