As part of the engagement efforts, the project team interviewed and hired a group of residents from prioritized corridors to be part of a “Vision Zero Street Team” and help get the community directly involved with the project. Meanwhile, Fehr & Peers was tasked to produce some on-trend, budget-friendly branded gear for the Street Team to wear and share at the community outreach events. When it all came together, it was amazing to see the Street Team feeling empowered and connected to the project while proudly wearing hats, t-shirts, and jackets designed by our creative team. The opportunity to take on unique branding for a community-oriented project and then see that work reflected on everyday community members affirmed the importance of designing with inclusive and accessible visuals. It revealed the power of finding different ways to reinforce branding to elevate engagement for participants of all ages, whether with clothing or other creative ideas.

Partnering with the client and building off community-centric ideas, our engagement efforts gathered an unprecedented amount of responses. Through the course of 35 days, we collaboratively developed events which uplifted cross-racial and intergenerational perspectives on the corridor. Our approach focused on creating a series of culturally significant events that would engage residents, primarily low-income Black and Latinx communities. More than 12,000 residents engaged in planning for safety improvements along Avalon Boulevard, and 700 resident surveys were submitted. Memorable and significant events delivered in partnership with community members, artists, and leaders included a glow-in-the-dark bike ride, mural painting, block parties, lunches, youth events, live discussions, a dog day, and much more. Even a local elotero (street corn vendor) helped us reach people in the community. A massive bilingual open house was a high point in the engagement process, which drew over 1,000 attendees and featured children’s activities and opportunities for providing input and learning more about Vision Zero. The Street Team provided us with the ability to use local knowledge and lived experiences in our planning, which helped shape events that represented and understood community needs. Community-based organizations also played a key role in the engagement efforts, helping our team develop engaging and culturally relevant events.

The engagement process was deliberately rooted in equity and centered around the inclusion of neglected community voices, reaching participants by meeting them where they lived, and working alongside an amazing project team comprised of local community experts and transportation planning professionals committed to transforming the ways in which we engage communities today.

Additionally, our visual communications work brought impactful results to the engagement activities above and beyond the effort to inform residents and encourage participation. We designed and distributed branded Vision Zero promotional gear, with many items specific to the events that were held, including shirts, hats, bike lights, tote bags, water bottles, reflective slap brackets, and even dog bag dispensers. Wearing, displaying, and using these branded items, community members brought Vision Zero into their homes, sparked conversations in the neighborhood about safe streets, and became potential “brand ambassadors” for safety as true parts of the project and all it stood for. While civic change can feel inaccessible to many, these visual and tangible representations helped to build awareness and extended our LADOT Vision Zero project team’s work with communities that care deeply about traffic safety.

Engaging communities historically siloed from the planning process requires unique, customized, and culturally relevant approaches, but the resulting impact speaks volumes.