Skip to main content

Washington releases Vision Zero Action Plan

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, in conjunction with the Department of Transportation (DDOT) the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and other city officials, has releases the District’s Vision Zero Action Plan, which aims to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries to people walkers, cyclists and drivers by 2024. The Plan is the result of an extensive planning process involving 30 government agencies, community groups and residents. It places a high priority on making safety improvements and ref
December 18, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, in conjunction with the Department of Transportation (DDOT) the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and other city officials, has releases the District’s Vision Zero Action Plan, which aims to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries to people walkers, cyclists and drivers by 2024.  
 
The Plan is the result of an extensive planning process involving 30 government agencies, community groups and residents.  It places a high priority on making safety improvements and refining how the city monitors and addresses hazardous street conditions.  During the planning process, residents reported more than 4,500 hazardous locations.  Those sites can now be mapped along with historical crash data to inform the District’s engineering, education, and enforcement efforts.
 
Widespread public feedback has confirmed some of the root causes of severe traffic crashes in the District. 45 per cent of residents surveyed knew someone who had been killed or seriously injured in a crash. Across all eight wards, residents also advised that their primary concerns are speeding drivers, distracted drivers, and people ignoring traffic signals.
 
The Action Plan outlines the strategies, time frames and agencies responsible for implementing programs to improve traffic safety regardless of where or how travellers move throughout the District. The plan serves as the playbook for the first years of the initiative and incorporates legislative and regulatory proposals already released by the Administration.
 
The District joins a growing list of US cities that have formally committed to goal of zero traffic fatalities, as well as over 230 other communities that have signed onto the U.S. Secretary of Transportation’s Mayors’ Challenge for Safer People and Safer Streets. The initiative aims to improve pedestrian and bicycle transportation safety by showcasing effective local actions, empowering local leaders to take action, and promoting partnerships to advance pedestrian and bicycle safety.
 
“Vision Zero is our strategic roadmap to eliminate fatalities and injuries on District streets by 2024,” said Mayor Bowser. “But this is just the first step.  Now that we have a smart plan, we will make the necessary changes to our street network so that residents, workers and visitors can safely navigate our great city.”
 
“Protecting vulnerable travellers through speed reduction is a strong theme through our Action Plan,” said DDOT director Leif Dormsjo. “Through extensive public outreach and collaboration, we are taking our first step towards realizing a ‘Vision Zero’ where no lives are lost on our streets or at our intersections. Together, we will make the District a safer place to live and travel through.”

Related Content

  • June 4, 2015
    After two decades of research, ITS is getting into its stride
    Colin Sowman gets the global view on how ITS has shaped the way we travel today and what will shape the way we travel tomorrow. Over the past two decades the scope and spread of intelligent transport systems has grown and diversified to encompass all modes of travel while at the same time integrating and consolidating. Two decades ago the idea of detecting cyclists or pedestrians may have been considered impossible and why would you want to do that anyway? Today cyclists can account for a significant propor
  • November 14, 2024
    Cop29 aims to boost deployment of zero-emission vehicles
    A number of transport-related commitments have been made in Baku
  • October 22, 2014
    New Haven shows small can be beautiful
    Connecticut’s new administration is using smart policy and ITS solutions to bridge social divides. Andrew Bardin Williams investigates. With only 130,000 residents, New Haven can hardly be called a metropolis. Measuring less than 502km (18 square miles), the city is huddled against the coast, squeezed between two mountains (appropriately called East Rock and West Rock) that, at 111m and 213m (366ft and 700ft) respectively, can hardly be called mountains. The airport is small and has limited service, and th
  • May 16, 2023
    Congestion charging in New York edges a wheel-length closer
    'This is about more than reducing traffic' says city mayor, pledging transit investment