Projects advanced by Office of Complete Streets and Vision Zero partners have seen a reduction in fatal and serious injury crashes

PHILADELPHIA – Mayor Jim Kenney announced figures from the Vision Zero Annual Report 2023 and the website “Complete Streets Projects Transform Traffic Safety” today. Projects advanced by the Office of Complete Streets and Vision Zero partners are reducing fatal and serious injury crashes by 34%, and injury crashes of any severity by 20%, compared to High Injury Network trends. 

Vision Zero is the City’s strategy to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries. The City has focused on installing projects on the High Injury Network, the 12% of city streets with 80% of all traffic deaths and serious injuries.

The Vision Zero Annual Report 2023 highlights three key types of traffic safety projects: road diets, separated bike lanes, and Neighborhood Slow Zones:

  • Road diets reduce travel lanes and reallocate roadway space. Road diets resulted in 18% fewer total injury crashes compared to High Injury Network trends.
  • Where separated bike lanes were installed, there were 17% fewer total injury crashes and twice as many bike riders. The City’s goal is to add separated bike lanes to 40 total miles of streets by 2025.
  • Neighborhood Slow Zones install traffic calming measures and set a 20 mph speed limit. Newly installed neighborhood Slow Zones have seen no fatal or serious injury crashes, and 75% fewer crashes.

“Vision Zero has been a cornerstone of my administration. The City and our partners have made important progress in complete streets reducing traffic deaths and crashes,” said Mayor Kenney. “All Philadelphians deserve to travel safely. Let’s build on our proven successes to fight the systemic issue of traffic violence. We have the resources and know-how to get traffic fatalities to zero.”

The City has recently won $220 million in federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, state, and local traffic safety grants. Grants include:

Philadelphia faces major traffic safety challenges. There were 124 traffic deaths on city streets in 2022, compared to 123 in 2021, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

Vulnerable road users continue to be at risk in Philadelphia. Every week, five children 17 years old and younger are hit by a vehicle while walking. Vision Zero is also an equity issue. Communities of color, lower-income neighborhoods, older adults, and people walking and biking face higher rates of traffic violence.

“As the Kenney Administration comes to a close and we prepare for new City leadership, we strongly encourage a citywide recommitment to Vision Zero,” added Mike Carroll, Deputy Managing Director for the City’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (OTIS). “The Commonwealth can assist by renewing and expanding speed cameras, and by allowing parking-separated bike lanes on state roads.”

Mayor Kenney was joined by Mike Carroll, Deputy Managing Director for the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability (OTIS); Fran Hanney, PennDOT Assistant District 6 Executive for Operations; Hans Van Mol, District Office Director for State Representative and Speaker of the House Joanna E. McClinton; City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier; and Carlton Williams, Streets Commissioner, City of Philadelphia. Community partners included the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and Indego bike share.

The Vision Zero Annual Report 2023 can be found here.

Additional Resources:

About Vision Zero
On November 7, 2016, Mayor Jim Kenney signed an Executive Order to create the Vision Zero Task Force. Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries, while increasing safety, health, and mobility for all. To learn more, visit the www.VisionZeroPHL.com.

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