Federal grant boosts Vision Zero effort to improve roadway safety
Published on February 13, 2023
Fort Worth roadways will become safer thanks to a $419,506 Safe Streets and Roads for All grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The funds will be used by the City’s Transportation & Public Works Department to develop a Vision Zero Safety Action Plan, said Kelly Porter, assistant director.
Why it’s important: The plan will recommend short-, mid- and long-term policies, programs, projects and strategies that will help the City meet its Vision Zero goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries. A key feature of the plan will be a prioritized list of pedestrian, bike, and roadway capital infrastructure projects that will be thoroughly vetted to prepare them for regional, state and nationally competitive federal funding opportunities.
“The award of this grant definitely shows the value of planning and that the City is being more proactive on our transportation investments and policy,” Porter said.
About Vision Zero
In the fall of 2019, City Council adopted a resolution supporting Vision Zero, a strategy to reduce fatal and serious injury traffic crashes. Since then, the Transportation & Public Works Department has analyzed more than 88,000 crashes that occurred from 2015-2019, to identify the Vision Zero High-Injury Network. To date, including the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant, the High-Injury Network has been used to secure approximately $9 million in federal funding for bike, pedestrian and roadway safety projects
Making investments in planning and data-driven transportation decision-making is critically important for Vision Zero success, said Chelsea St. Louis, senior capital projects officer.
“In this case, previous work has enabled the City to leverage $1.6 million in City funds to secure $9 million in federal funding to implement over $10 million in safety projects. A Vision Zero Action Plan will help the City expand upon that success,” St. Louis said.
Photo: Vision Zero is a strategy to improve roadways with the goal of reducing fatal and serious injury traffic crashes.
Get articles like this in your inbox. Subscribe to City News.