YOU can help reduce traffic fatalities to Zero by 2030
If you’ve ever had something to say about a dangerous stretch of road or a recurring traffic problem in Charlotte, but didn’t know who to tell — listen up! We’ve found the voice you’ve been looking for.
As part of the city’s Vision Zero program, residents can now click a spot on a city map, and submit a traffic problem they see: http://charlotte.maps.arcgis.com/apps/CrowdsourceReporter/index.html?appid=f0b9fb71ee3e4c70ba8d5b400b729946
How did this get started? It began last May when the city of Charlotte jumped on board with Vision Zero, a nationwide program that started in Sweden and is currently working to save lives while encouraging good health and mobility (just like Open Streets 704!) in about 25 cities in the U.S.
Charlotte’s program created a task force of community groups, government agencies, and stakeholders that focus on cars, bikes, and safer traditional and alternative commutes. The program’s goal is to make streets safer by focusing on how people actually behave, where simple mistakes aren’t fatal. Vision Zero wants to literally reduce all traffic deaths in Charlotte to zero.
Read more about Vision Zero here: https://charlottenc.gov/VisionZero/Pages/VisionZero.aspx
“We spent May researching other cities’ efforts,” says Angela Berry, a traffic safety program manager at Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT). CDOT managers also visited community groups, and attended events like the Latin American Festival and Open Streets 704 to get a wide variety of suggestions about how to improve city streets and better ways to get around.
They found interactive maps working in Denver and Philadelphia, and the “genius map people” in the City’s offices “made it happen,” says Berry.
In less than 2 months, the map has pulled in roughly 1,400 comments, and Berry says 80 – 90% of the comments include details about the problems that help the city prioritize solutions. Speeding in neighborhoods is a common complaint. The first draft of an Action Plan will be ready by the end of 2018, with goals presented for 2020, 2025, and beyond.
It will take about 2 years to prioritize all of the input and address the most serious needs first, says Berry. But the 60 or so people from nearly two dozen groups and agencies are committed to creating a plan and making it work.
“People are really passionate about this city,” says Berry about the Vision Zero task force and City agencies working on the project. “Their passion is to make Charlotte a great city.”
So let’s hear from YOU! Click the link and do your part to make the streets of Charlotte open and accessible to everyone.
