Ending traffic fatalities with Vision Zero
In Fall 2018 MCRPC joined communities around the country working to end deaths and serious injuries on our streets and highways, with the Vision Zero Action Plan.
What is Vision Zero?
Vision Zero is a traffic safety project with a clear goal - a transportation system with zero fatalities or serious injuries, which also “increas[es] safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. One of our goals for the transportation system in Bloomington-Normal is that it will be safe for everyone regardless of of where they go or how they get there. While our transportation system users share responsibility for system safety with the government stewards of the system, the greater share of this duty lies with public entities. In the Vision Zero approach to traffic safety, death and injury are not inescapable, and can be prevented through appropriate policy and design decisions.
MCRPC is using the Vision Zero concepts and framework to develop strategies for crash-related fatalities and serious injuries in our area. This project, funded by federal planning and research funds through the Illinois Department of Transportation, will identify priority locations for action or additional study.
Because crashes often result from distracted or impaired driving, this project includes a public information campaign to expand awareness of the issues. Watch and listen for these public service announcements here, on the MCRPC Facebook page, and on a television, radio, computer or mobile device near you. Please give us feedback on this campaign, and your suggestions on how to get the message across to the whole community.
IDOT - Driving Zero Fatalities to Reality
The central goal of IDOT’s State Highway Safety Plan is summed up with the phrase “Driving Zero Fatalities to Reality.” This core principal aligns seamlessly with the MCRPC adoption of the Vision Zero framework and the state safety targets. Bloomington-Normal and McLean County will fulfill our commitment to IDOT’s safety targets through this local process.
Dive Deeper into Vision Zero
Vision Zero is also an organization, the Vision Zero Network. The Network provides information resources and policy guidelines, and supports communities in pursuing their commitment to the Vision Zero approach to traffic crash reduction and the elimination of fatal and serious injuries resulting from crashes. You can find more detailed discussion of this approach to traffic safety at the Vision Zero website.