Vision Zero

Every year, over 40,000 people are killed and many more are seriously injured on roads in the United States. In Worcester, too many people have lost their lives on our streets. This is simply unacceptable. Starting this year, the City of Worcester is approaching transportation safety in a new way. That approach is called Vision Zero.

Worcester has released the draft Priority Injury Network that identifies those roadways where the majority of serious injuries and fatalities from crashes occur. The Worcester Vision Zero: Priority Network Story Map provides the details about the analysis, public input and next steps.

Learn More About Vision Zero - StoryMap

To kick off the Vision Zero effort, on February 29, 2024, City leadership was joined by author and urban planner Jeff Speck for the inspiring and informative State of Our Streets Forum. This event served as a kick-off to the City's Vision Zero efforts. If you weren't able to make the event, please view the State of Our Streets Forum Video Presentation. You may also read the poem written and performed by Serenity Jackson, City of Worcester Youth Poet Laureate, titled, Vision Zero... Safer Streets.

What is Vision Zero?

Vision Zero is an international street safety movement dedicated to eliminating fatalities and serious injuries on our roadways. Vision Zero is based on the belief that:

Vision Zero shifts how we approach transportation safety using the "Safe System" approach. This approach makes safety the highest priority and is driven by the belief that even one fatality on our roads is too many.

How Do We Get to Zero?

Through a Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grant received from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the City is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the existing road network to develop a strategic, effective and actionable safety action plan that provides the tools to achieve Vision Zero.

This Plan is crucial to acting on the City's commitment to the elimination of fatalities and serious injuries from across the transportation system to create safe, equitable and sustainable mobility for all. Ultimately, this plan will help the City identify projects, policies, programs and strategies to make Vision Zero a routine part of City operations across all departments.

Throughout this process, the team will unveil:

• Where safety incidents are occurring for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.
• What conditions or challenges influence how people choose their travel routes.
• How the conditions of street infrastructure contribute to unsafe behavior.
• Whether existing policies are inhibiting best practices and proven measures to achieve a more safe and equitable road system.

The Vision Zero Safety Action Plan process will include data collection, comprehensive analysis and engagement with community members to inform the development of short-term recommendations and a toolbox for the City to continue the Vision Zero strategy long-term.