The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced on Thursday, October 27 that it has revised the city’s Vision Zero program that aims at reaching the goal of zero traffic-related deaths and serious injuries.
“Our original target of achieving zero deaths by 2024 was ambitious and has not been without its challenges,” DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a press release, adding however, that many traffic safety initiatives introduced over the past seven years are starting to be fruitful.
“The many lessons learned have helped us identify critical needs—such as new models of project development and enforcement—that we must implement with urgency,” Bowser continued.
Between 2015, when Vision Zero was first implemented, and 2021, the District saw 32 deaths on average that resulted from traffic accidents per year.
Yearly traffic fatalities significantly decreased in DC over the past two decades, dropping from 69 — the highest — in 2003 to 40 in 2021, which is the same or better than other large American cities, according to DDOT.
But the city seems to fail so far to reach its goal to achieve zero deaths by 2024, which was originally targeted via Vision Zero in 2015.
“The District is taking a fresh look at our strategies and processes to address the streets and neighborhoods that continue to see the highest fatal and serious injury crash rates,” DDOT said.
“This strategy is supplemented by prioritizing policies and projects that provide the greatest benefits to neighborhoods with streets that have seen historic disinvestment and high numbers of vulnerable populations,” added the agency’s statement.