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Zero. In some instances we all like it. Zero interest, zero payments, zero calories.
How about zero fatalities on our roadways? Greensboro has joined a growing
number of governments to make that commitment to safety and its residents.
The “vision zero”movement began with Swedish parliament in 1997. Sweden
was the first country to adopt this policy, based on the belief that loss of life is
not an acceptable price to pay for mobility.
Several countries followed suit and in 2012 Chicago became the first city in the
United States to commit to reduce transportation-related deaths to zero by 2022.
Since then, Austin, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland,
San Francisco, Seattle, andWashington DC have also become Vision Zero Focus
Cities.
In October 2016, then-Governor Pat McCrory introduced the NC Vision Zero
initiative with the goal of cutting roadway fatalities in half within the next 15
years and a long-term goal of zero deaths on North Carolina roadways.
The initiative will require the collaboration
of multiple jurisdictions and stakeholders
including those in the Greensboro area. The
City will engineer safer roads, educate all of
road users, and enforce traffic laws. Individually
drivers must remember to make good
decisions, obey speed laws, wear seat belts, and
avoid the temptations of distracted driving.
Over the next several months, Greensboro Department of Transportation will be
evaluating existing programs and begin transitioning to incorporate the goals of
the NC Vision Zero campaign. North Carolina is the ninth most populated state
in the country, yet ranks fifth in traffic fatalities. The NC Transportation Secretary
James Trogdon has made safety a top priority and Vision Zero will play an
instrumental role to reducing traffic fatalities.
Visit
ncvisionzero.orgto learn more about the NC Vision Zero initiative.
Greensboro Commits to End Roadway Fatalities
1,387 people
were killed on
North Carolina
roads in 2015.
future to incorporate new
data collection and traffic
management technologies
and software capabilities.
More Improvements to
Come
Although systemic
congestion on major
roadways has been
reduced through
widenings, intersection
improvements, and the
new traffic signal system,
the city and MPO area still
has congested locations.
GDOT staff is constantly
evaluating intersections
and analyzing crash
data to identify future
improvements.
In addition to using
traditional methods
to identify congested
locations, the City staff is
also using real time data
from vendors like INRIX,
HERE, or TomTom. These
vendors provided travel
time data for vehicles and
trucks across the country.
The City also has a two-
way data share partnership
with Waze. Waze provides
anonymous incident and
slow-down information
directly from participating
drivers. The City will be
able to provide Waze users
with advanced notice of
major traffic events, such
as concerts, festivals,
and special events that
may affect their daily
commutes.
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