Mayor Stoney Signs Pledge for City’s Participation in Vision Zero Initiative


Mayor Levar M. Stoney today signed a document pledging to make Richmond a Vision Zero city.  That commitment puts the city in alignment with others striving to dramatically reduce and even eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries by 2030.  The signing took place this morning at the Canal Walk Turning Basin at the corner of 14th and Dock streets. The pledge comes just days before Halloween to heighten awareness at a time when many area children are crossing city streets going door-to-door for candy.   
 

In part, Vision Zero is designed to change the traditional mindset that traffic-related deaths and those resulting in severe injuries are inevitable to the mindset that they are preventable. According to VisionZero.org, the strategy is multidisciplinary in that it brings together diverse and necessary stakeholders to formulate and address best practices for traffic fatality remediation. 
 

Several local non-profit organizations, including AAA Mid-Atlantic, Sportsbackers, SafeKids Virginia, and DRIVE SMART Virginia attended the event to provide information on their services.  There also was a distracted driving simulator to show motorists how diminished their driving skills become when they are not focused.
 

Vision Zero was first implemented in the 1990s in Sweden and has been successful throughout European countries.  In the U.S. there are 10 Vision Zero Focus Cities that adopted the initiative in 2016 and are helping to facilitate and accelerate getting the program into additional cities. Among the Focus Cities are Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Austin, Texas and Boston. Nearly 30 cities nationwide are participating in Vision Zero. 
 

For more information on city services and programs, visit Richmondgov.com.
 

For additional information on Vision Zero visit
http://www.richmondgov.com/PublicWorks/VisionZero.aspx