“Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.” - Vision Zero Network
In 2020, someone was killed or seriously injured in a crash on average every 4.5 hours in the Greater Philadelphia region.
Partner Efforts
Take the Delaware County's Vision Zero "state of safety practice" survey! The purpose of this survey is to help get a sense of existing policies, guidelines, and practices that support safety both within Delaware County and the greater region.
What is Vision Zero?
“Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. First implemented in Sweden in the 1990s, Vision Zero has proved successful across Europe — and now it’s gaining momentum in major American cities.” - Vision Zero Network
Here is a map of communities that have pledged to Vision Zero, including Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Hoboken, and Jersey City.
What is the Safe System Approach?
While the traditional approach to road safety focuses on correcting human behaviors and preventing all crashes, the Safe System Approach is holistic and works to build multiple layers of protection both to prevent crashes from happening and to minimize injuries when crashes do occur.
U.S. DOT has adopted the Safe System Approach as the guiding paradigm to address roadway safety and will be the framework in which DVRPC works towards Vision Zero.
What is the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant?
On February 1, 2023, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a historic $800 million in grant awards for 510 projects through the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program, a record amount of funding to improve roads and address traffic fatalities. The SS4A competitive grant program, established by the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIA), provides a total of $5 billion to be awarded over five years for regional, local, and Tribal initiatives. DVRPC was awarded $1.47 million for its Regional Vision Zero 2050 Action Program.
More information can be found on the USDOT website, including webinars and resource lists to help stakeholders prepare for SS4A applications.
What is included in DVRPC’s Regional Vision Zero 2050 Action Program?
DVRPC and its partners will create a safety action program to advance the Connections 2050 Long-Range Plan Regional Vision Zero 2050 goal with a process designed to strengthen ongoing regional collaboration toward eliminating crash fatalities. The Regional Vision Zero pIan will conform with USDOT criteria published in the Fiscal Year 2022 SS4A Action Plan Notice of Funding Opportunity. In addition to required plan elements like a regional High Injury Network, DVRPC will review recently-completed and forthcoming county and local plans for inclusion in the regional plan–possibly qualifying them for future SS4A implementation grant rounds.
Also as part of this grant, Upper Darby Township will hire a consultant to develop a complete streets study which will include safe access to transit facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists. The study will be completed with full community participation and feedback.
Check out our April Regional Safety Task Force (RSTF) meeting recording for more details about Regional Vision Zero.
Additional information will be available as the project progresses.
What are other ways DVRPC is working on transportation safety?
The Office of Safe Streets (OSS) is involved in a great many of DVRPC's efforts, from coordinating the Regional Safety Task Force and road safety audits, to safety-related assistance on key DVRPC publications like the Long-Range Plan and corridor studies. DVRPC embraces Vision Zero, a road safety framework premised on the belief that no loss of life on our regional roadway network is acceptable. Our work advances the region toward this goal and supports our planning partners' transportation safety efforts to eliminate roadway deaths and serious injuries. The links below cover recent publications by the Office of Safe Streets and provide access to additional resources.
DVRPC's Data Navigator is a one-stop data repository for all geographically-based Census and DVRPC data, including crash summaries by region, county, and municipality. Data results are viewable online and downloadable.
The crash data viewer is a webmap designed to facilitate analysis of crash history at regional, county, municipal and user-defined geographies. The product is intended for use by DVRPC's project partners and the general public.
The Transportation Safety Analysis and Plan (TSAP) is the guiding document of the Regional Safety Task Force and transportation safety plan for the region. The TSAP analyzes the most recently available crash data for the nine-county Greater Philadelphia region in order to inform planners and roadway owners about the greatest contributing factors in severe traffic crashes. The TSAP uses the FHWA Safe System approach to present recommended strategies to address the factors that contribute most to severe crashes in the region.
This Crashes and Communities of Concern report is a study of the regional inequities in crash incidence, using a correlation analysis to determine which federally protected classes (“communities of concern”) are at the greatest risk of severe vehicle crashes in the Greater Philadelphia region. Its main finding is that census tracts with above average rates of low-income, racial minority, ethnic minority, and disabled populations correlate with census tracts that have above average crash rates in the region. This study recommends interventions in the delivery of safety investments in the region in order to address the disproportionate number of severe crashes in these communities of concern.
How can I help improve transportation safety?
- Join us at our next Regional Safety Task Force meeting
- Use our Traffic Safety media toolkit
- Use the word “crash” not “accident”
- Sign up for DVRPC’s Regional Vision Zero updates (click the button towards the top of this page)