Help Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition expand our work on Vision Zero, the goal to eliminate traffic deaths and life-altering injuries on our roads. We recently launched the Vision Zero Toolkit, a guide to help cities put these goals and ideas into practice, increasing roadway safety and encouraging people to choose healthy transportation options. We created this guidebook to urge and support city and county staff, elected officials, and planning professionals in their efforts to improve safety.
People walking and biking are disproportionately affected by collisions. Even though biking and walking account for 1-3% of commute trips in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, people biking and walking make up 7-8% of roadway injuries and fatalities. People living in low-income neighborhoods are most at risk because their communities are less likely to have safe infrastructure and they are more likely to rely on biking, walking, and transit to travel to jobs, schools, and errands.
The Vision Zero Toolkit helps cities make strategic plans to address roadway safety and create an environment where people feel comfortable walking and biking. This Toolkit features best practices from around the world shown to reduce traffic deaths and major injuries. To gain broad-based support, we must present to city councils and advisory committees; meet with city staff, elected officials, and law enforcement; and consult with cities to make sure appropriate policies/plans are implemented.
As more cities consider no loss of life acceptable on our roadways, our communities will become safe, more attractive, and comfortable for people, no matter how they choose to get around. Realizing Vision Zero will mean fewer collisions, deaths, and injuries and will lead to increased quality of life, improved health, reduced pollution and traffic, and a better place to live for everyone.
