By Jorge Casuso

February 18, 2026 -- The City Council last week took steps to swiftly implement traffic safety measures after a marked rise in fatal and serious injury crashes despite major investments.

Reached with little discussion, Tuesday's unanimous vote calls for Transportation Department staff to change course on the City's "Vision Zero" plan implemented 10 years ago to eliminate serious crashes.

It directs staff to explore the trade-offs made when the goal of making streets safer conflicts with keeping traffic flowing and to return in six months with quick and inexpensive ways to immediately protect pedestrians and bicyclists.

"Santa Monica has done amazing work on its mobility interventions," said Councilmember Jesse Zwick, "but there's no denying the fact we haven't reduced the deaths and serious injuries on our streets and roadways to zero.

"In fact, we haven't reduced them at all," said Zwick, who spearheaded the discussion item. "It's clear that what we're doing is not sufficient."

Mayor Caroline Torosis, who placed the item on the agenda with Zwick and Councilmember Dan Hall, agreed. "We're going in the wrong direction," she said. "I think we have to take a different approach."

Torosis noted that the number of fatal and serious accidents involving bicyclists and pedestrians have steadily risen over the past four years, soaring to a record 60 in 2024 ("Crashes Resulting in Severe Injuries, Deaths Soar," February 14, 2025).

The increase has come despite major investments in traffic safety that have included installing protected bike lanes, improving crosswalks and conducting frequent traffic enforcement operations.

While these measures have helped, Zwick said, the City's Bicycle and Pedestrian plans have failed to implement "miles and miles of streets" designated as greenways that "intentionally limit speeds and traffic volumes."

With the exception for a "partially executed portion on Michigan (Avenue), over the last ten years we have done none of the work on our greenways."

Zwick called for staff to look at "incredibly simple" and "cost-effective" ways to "realize the goals of what a greenway is" that won't take ten years to implement.

The approved motion calls for "a reimagined plan that prioritizes human life" over vehicles in street design and engineering decisions.

The plan should reduce traffic speeds with measures that include "rebalancing" the timing of traffic signals and developing "new streamlined processes" for input on mobility projects" so they can be more efficiently completed.

In addition, the motion calls for investing in "new tools and processes that analyze every severe injury and fatal crash" and implements "any applicable quick-build safety enhancements within three months of the incident."

Adopted by the Council in February 2016, the Zero Vision Plan was prompted by a rising number of fatal and severe injury crashes with a goal of ending them in coming decades.