The Philomath City Council discussed vision statement language Monday for the city’s Transportation Safety Action Plan, a federally required document aimed at eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries — though not all council members were comfortable with the word “zero.”
City Manager Chris Workman said the TSAP process remains on schedule and will likely go before the council for formal approval this fall. He brought the vision statement to council members now, however, as a first step toward drafting a resolution.
The statement under consideration — “The city of Philomath envisions a future with zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries” — sparked debate about whether such a goal is achievable.
Councilor Diane Crocker expressed skepticism.
“I think we can say we want zero all we want, but a drunk driver comes through where it’s beyond our control, no matter how safe we make everything,” she said. “That’s the end of that goal, and I just don’t think it’s very realistic to say we want zero. I would like to say we would like to reduce our fatalities on our roads, that would be good. I think zero is not realistic.”
The zero-fatalities framing, however, is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which mandates that TSAPs include a public commitment to an eventual goal of zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries.
Workman characterized the language as an aspirational goal, not a guarantee.
“To say that a drunk driver might hit and kill somebody or fall off the road and kill themselves doesn’t negate the fact that you still have an aspirational goal to have zero fatalities, and you’re going to do the engineering and the effort to try to make your roads as safe as they can be,” he said.
Mayor Christopher McMorran offered a similar perspective, drawing a comparison to educational goals.
“We don’t want anyone to die on our streets, so the goal is for no one to die,” McMorran said. “We understand we don’t always have control over everything, but I would also just liken it to the school district’s goal, which is to graduate every student and transition them onto a job training or college. They don’t always graduate every student every year … I think just having that as a goal helps everyone kind of get on board.”
McMorran also suggested specific language the points to zero serious injuries or fatalities by the year 2040.
A 2040 target would align with the horizon year of the city’s Transportation System Plan and the target already adopted by Benton County. Council members also reviewed vision statements from neighboring jurisdictions. Benton County’s goal is to eliminate serious injuries and fatalities on county roads by 2040, with a 50% reduction milestone by 2035. The city of Corvallis aims to make its transportation system as safe as possible and to move toward zero traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries within the next 10 years.
The TSAP is being developed with assistance from DKS Associates. John Bosket, a senior vice president with the firm, submitted a draft vision statement memo to the city in March outlining the federal requirements and options for structuring the language.
Workman said he took notes on the wording preferences discussed Monday and will bring a resolution back to the council for consideration at the July meeting.
