Oakland’s Vision Zero Initiative: Aiming for Safer Streets

Oakland’s Vision Zero Initiative: Aiming for safer streets, is an initiative that started to prevent deaths from car accidents. Whether the person is a pedestrian or a driver, the streets should be safe for all to commute. 

Oakland’s Vision Zero Initiative

The Vision Zero Initiative has helped protect citizens from getting injured in car accidents.

What is Vision Zero?

The data says that each year, more than 42,000 people are killed in car collisions, leaving many more injured on American streets. In order to stop the numbers from increasing, this initiative was launched with the mission to prevent these tragedies instead of labeling them as “accidents.” 

The significant loss of an individual’s life takes a tragic toll. According to the Oakland injury lawyers at Milanfar Law Firm, Their death is beyond comprehension, which further impacts the community deeply—followed by the personal economic costs and emotional trauma to the individual’s loved ones. The taxpayer is also burdened as they have to spend more money on emergency response and long-term healthcare costs. The increasing deaths instill fear in many others. 

Eventually, we begin compromising our public’s health with increasing rates of inactive diseases and pollution due to higher carbon emissions.

Therefore, Vision Zero came to life. It is a strategy dedicated to putting an end to all traffic related deaths and severe injuries. This is being done by increasing health, safety, and equal mobility for all. 

You will be surprised to know that it was first implemented in Sweden in the 1990s. Now Vision Zero has gained recognition and proved to be successful across Europe, with positive responses from major American cities as well. 

How is Oakland’s Vision Zero a prominent departure from the current situation? 

Oakland’s Vision Zero Initiative is a prominent departure from the current situation in the following ways:

Policymakers and the System Designers Should Revise the Policies

People do make mistakes while crossing roads or even while walking on the streets, which is something that Vision Zero recognizes. Therefore, their request is made to the policymakers and system designers that they should work on improving the roads. This also means that system designers and policymakers should revise their policies regarding speed management and other possible measures that can reduce the severity of crashes. 

Diversity and necessary Stakeholders are Brought Together.

It is a synthesizing approach through which diversity and necessary stakeholders are brought together. This can help push the conversation forward in a more productive way. In the past, similar strategies among engineers, local policymakers, traffic planners, and public health professionals have yet to be part of these norms. Here, the program acknowledges that several reasons contribute to safe mobility, like speed, roadway design, behaviors, policies, and technology.

This all, in turn, aids in achieving the mutual goal of reducing severe injuries and zero fatalities.

If communities want to see Vision Zero as a success, then they must realize that they need to do more than just remain in business, proper systematic changes have to be made to see improvements.