In 98 cities of similar size Laguna ranks most dangerous for cyclists pedestrians and those killed due to abusive drivers

The Office of Transportation Safety (OTS) compiles traffic collision data on all cities in California. This chart shows the number killed and injured in collisions with automobiles. Click the photo to enlarge.

(OTS) then ranks Laguna with similar sized cities in California. Here Laguna is ranked with cities per average population. Best score is 100%, worst 0%.

Here Laguna is ranked per vehicle mile traveled.

Here Laguna is ranked for abusive drivers per vehicle miles traveled.

By any measure Laguna ranks at the bottom of measured road safety. 

Compare the safety record for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers in Laguna, Newport, and San Clemente at this slideshow from Photobucket.

Laguna ranks second most dangerous to cross Hwy 1

 

A composite view of bicycle and pedestrian collision data from Dana Point to Huntington Beach from TIMS. The contribution from each city shown below.

This is a collection of vehicle accident data from the Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) showing collision data for Laguna and beach cities. It shows Laguna and Newport Beach lead in bike and pedestrian accidents along Pacific Coast Highway 1.

 Close-up view of bicycle and pedestrian collisions in same period.

The Cost of Revenue from Vehicle Fines

The cost to manage vehicle citations and parking fees should be considered when relying on vehicle fees as city revenue. These are figures from the 2010-2011 Budget documents for three cities. This table shows the number of residents served by vehicle enforcement staff and the cost per resident for doing so. In 2011 the total revenue from all vehicle fines and parking fees was $9,927,000, planning city revenue from these fines and fees is at best a break-even proposition.

	Dana Point	Newport	Laguna
Population	37,000	87,000	25,000
Vehicle Enforcement Staff 3 Depts.	32	198	65
2010-2011 Enforcement Expense	$7,772,608	$33,867,232	$10,831,700
Residents served per Officer	1156	439	385
Cost Per Resident	$210	$389	$433

City Policy: it's in the MONEY

This sequence of charts show the operating revenue from three neighboring beach cities, Dana Point, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach. The chart for Laguna shows the city draws more revenue from parking and vehicle fines than from general sales and occupancy tax (bed tax). A city budget that relies on vehicle taxes and parking fees as revenue means the city has no incentive to remove automobiles and traffic . Adopting Complete Street Policy to reduce the mode share of automobiles would threaten this revenue, thus new policy remains a fantasy in Laguna Beach. Until Laguna beach city government abandons its oppressive revenue model based on vehicle fines and fees in favour of a pro-business model to generate legitimate revenue, traffic congestion will not improve. Despite more vehicle fines to make ends meet, we will likely see more business closures. There are better ways to generate city revenue in Laguna Beach. (28 April 2011 presentation CSTF)

Laguna Beach Operating Revenue

This chart shows Laguna Beach draws more city revenue from parking and vehicle fines than from general sales and occupancy tax (bed tax). Remember it costs money to maintain  parking meters and enforce vehicle fines, the total expense for police and parking services exceed $14M for this period. (from 2010-2011 Budget Laguna Beach)

Newport Beach Operating Revenue

This chart shows Newport
Beach draws it's dominant operating revenues from sales and occupancy tax, a reasonable amount from parking and vehicle fines and negligible amount from transit, bikes and pedestrians sources. When looking for vehicle related revenues in Newport Beach one must be ambitious. (2010-2011 Budget Newport Beach)

Dana Point Operating Revenue

This chart shows Dana Point draws the most of it's operating revenue from sales and occupancy tax (bed tax), little from vehicle fines and parking. The contribution from Transit and Bikes & Pedestrians is negligible. (2010-2011 Budget Dana Point).

This chart shows vehicle related revenue per enforcement officer. Laguna Beach draws the largest of three beach cities compared. (2008-2011 Budgets)

This chart shows vehicle related revenue per resident. Laguna Beach draws the largest amount of revenue for three beach cities compared. (2008-2011 Budgets)

Vancouver BC to Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Ride2Rio

In January 2012 Naomi Devine left the Lions Gate Bridge in North Vancouver, British Colombia Canada and began her quest to reach Earth Summit 2012 in Rio de Janeiro Brazil on 20 June 2012. Her principal mode of transportation so far is the Brodie touring bicycle you see here. Her main stopping points along the way are cafe's where she raises awareness for a sustainable future. Follow her journey on her Facebook or Twitter page or her website at ride2rio.ca.  Read about Naomi's conviction to build a sustainable world from an incredible capable woman. Earth Summit 2012, Vision, Cooperation, Transformation. Time is up, get involved. Independent story here.