In the City of Los Angeles, we face a public health crisis demanding an urgent response: Our streets are some of the biggest killers in the city, causing an alarming and growing number of traffic fatalities.

Each year, more than 200 people in our city die as a result of traffic collisions. Last year alone, there were 260 traffic fatalities — far more than the number of fatalities from gang-related violence.

No community is immune, but the victims are disproportionately older adults, immigrants, people of color, people who live in low-income communities, people with disabilities, and children. In fact, traffic fatalities are the leading cause of death of children between the ages of 5 and 14 in Los Angeles County.

It is unacceptable that the deaths of hundreds of people are treated as the collateral damage of living in an auto-centric city. Los Angeles has higher traffic fatality rates than most other major U.S. cities — twice those of Boston, New York City and San Francisco — and the problem keeps getting worse.

We know how to fix the problem — but for too long we have refused to act.

We can end traffic fatalities through a smart, data-driven approach called Vision Zero. Modeling it after successful initiatives in other cities, Mayor Eric Garcetti issued his Vision Zero directive in 2015, aiming to eliminate traffic fatalities in Los Angeles by 2025 through a combination of engineering, education and enforcement. The City Council has adopted Vision Zero — but has yet to back it up with sufficient funding.

The city committed a mere $3 million this fiscal year. Contrast this with New York City, which is investing $174 million this year.

There is a new revenue source we can use to end this crisis — if we exercise the will and the political discipline to do so. When voters approved Measure M last fall, they not only invested in a 21st century mass transit system; they agreed to share millions of dollars each year with each city in “Local Return Funds” for local transportation projects.

Los Angeles should invest the bulk of its Local Return Funds into ending traffic fatalities.

We know how to use design to accommodate human error and change outcomes. Through rigorous data analysis, the city has identified a “High Injury Network” — street segments where fatal crashes occur repeatedly. We know that people will die in these hot spots unless we intervene. By investing in street redesign, traffic signals, upgraded crosswalks, intersection bulbouts, safe routes to schools, median safe harbors and more, we can turn segments of the “High Injury Network” into a “No Injury Network.”

We know that transformation is possible.

In New York City, fatalities have dropped 23 percent since the city launched its own Vision Zero three years ago. Closer to home, at Hollywood and Highland, an innovative new “scramble” crosswalk installed as part of Vision Zero has taken a place where there were 19 collisions and 13 injuries in the 11 months before the crosswalk was installed, and reduced those numbers to zero in the fifteen months since. This program works.

As with any available pool of money, many people have their eyes on these funds. Some have suggested using the funds to reconstruct some of our worst streets. It is certainly a worthwhile expenditure. But the Measure M funds would barely make a dent in the problem — allowing a mile or two of reconstructed streets per City Council district per year. That pales in comparison to the immediate progress we can make in saving lives.

It is also politically tempting to divide the money equally among 15 council districts. But while we have deadly streets in every council district, some areas are a lot deadlier than others. Nearly two-thirds of all deaths and severe injuries involving people walking and biking occur on just 6 percent of our streets. These areas tend to be low-income neighborhoods that have historically suffered from generations of under-investment.

Equity demands more significant investments be made in South Los Angeles, the East San Fernando Valley and the city’s urban core.

Balancing competing priorities and policy objectives is usually challenging, especially in a big, diverse complex city like Los Angeles. But the choice to prevent children and grandmothers from dying while they cross the street should be an easy one. People come first, and protecting their lives and the public health has to be priority one.

We need to fund Vision Zero.

Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Mike Bonin are members of the Los Angeles City Council, representing Districts 8 and 11, respectively.