Ten years ago, San Diego committed to eliminating pedestrian, cyclist and other non-motorist traffic deaths by 2025. Since then, those traffic deaths have increased.

The big picture: Nationwide, pedestrian deaths per mile driven have increased, as crashes have become more likely to be deadly, and San Diego has been no different, mobility advocacy group Circulate San Diego found in a report released Tuesday.

• "San Diego stands in a worse position today than 10 years ago," author Will Moore said Tuesday during a press conference.

By the numbers: In 2015, San Diego joined the nationwide "Vision Zero" movement, committing to make transportation policy changes to eliminate non-motorist traffic deaths within a decade.

• A year earlier, 25 non-motorists died on San Diego streets. The city's annual total has been below that number only twice since and has been above 35 for three straight years.

State of play: Circulate praised the city's "Complete Streets" program, which builds transit-, pedestrian- and bike-friendly corridors with slower driving speeds, but recommended increased urgency.

• It said the city needed to "dramatically" increase safe street spending, explore camera-based traffic enforcement and speed up project construction times.

Flashback: Former Mayor Kevin Faulconer, a Republican, embraced Vision Zero in 2015, and a bipartisan city council, including then Council Member Todd Gloria, approved it unanimously, generating national attention for their ambitious commitment.

What they're saying: Making bold promises years into the future does not have a successful track record, Moore told Axios.

• "The climate action plan did not get us better climate results," he said, citing the city's pledge to slash its emissions, also from 2015. "Vision Zero did give us good planning, but it didn't get us a commitment of resources. … When you have a plan to do something, it gives a political incentive to just declare victory."
• "When we make these great plans and things get worse, people lose faith in our good intentions."

Go deeper

City crews have taken out or moved more than 100 parking meters near intersections, mostly downtown, to help improve pedestrian safety.

Why it matters: The goal is to reduce traffic-related fatalities and injuries by making it easier for drivers to see people crossing the street.

Context: Each year, about 25% of traffic fatalities and half of all traffic injuries nationwide are attributed to intersections, per the Federal Highway Administration.

Driving the news: The local work is in preparation for enforcement of California's "daylighting" law that prevents drivers statewide from parking within 20 feet of any intersection. Crosswalks with curb extensions require a 15-foot buffer.

• Crews also started painting curbs red and putting up "no parking" signs at intersections with heavy traffic. But they won't be able to mark every curb as there are 16,000 intersections in the city.
• Starting Jan. 1, drivers can get citations for violations even in unmarked areas.

Zoom in: San Diego police will start issuing warnings for illegally-parked cars in January, and handing out tickets on March 1.

• Patrols will be more aggressive downtown and in urban neighborhoods than residential ones, per the Union-Tribune.
• The proposed fine is $65, and needs city council approval.

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✈️ Three weekly nonstop flights to Amsterdam are coming to San Diego International Airport starting May 8 with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The new route will be the third nonstop to a major European city, including London and Munich. (NBC7)

⛺City crews cleared out more than 62 tons of debris and waste from encampments under the I-5 freeway along Friars Road, an area known as the "island" where about 100 people were living. (CBS8) 

🏘️ More than a third of San Diego County homes were valued at $1 million or more in 2023. The metro area now ranks fourth in the nation for the most million-dollar homes, behind San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and Orange counties. (Union-Tribune)

Frontwave Arena, we like you. You can stay.

State of play: We finally got to check out San Diego's newest venue, an undersized sports arena in Oceanside built for the San Diego Sockers and the new San Diego Clippers.

• Friday was Bill Walton night, and the home debut of the new G League team on a court that's now named after Grateful Red.

Inside the arena: There's not a bad seat in the 7,500-person capacity building, which feels as intimate as an old college field house with the accommodations of a state-of-the-art arena.

• The court is open to the entire concourse, making it easy to keep track of the game while you grab a bite or drink.

Dig in: There were long lines for Baja Tacos, Seaside Market, Tanner's Prime Burgers and pizza from Gelati & Peccati (and long lines to get into the venue too), but for now we'll attribute them to growing pains.

• Great local craft beer from Pizza Port, Burgeon Beer Company and Pure Project won't require a wait.

What's next

California spent nearly $19,000 per student at K-12 public schools during the 2023 fiscal year, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The big picture: That's more than other West Coast states, but less than states in New England and the Mid-Atlantic. 

By the numbers: Vermont ($26,345), New Jersey ($26,280) and Connecticut ($24,896) spent the most. 

• Oklahoma ($11,142), Utah ($10,333) and Idaho ($10,203) spent the least.
• Illinois ($19,598), Wyoming ($19,324), Maryland ($18,887) and Washington ($18,181) were closest to California's spending.

The fine print: The figures include state payments made on behalf of public school systems.