Leggett Presents Two-Year “Vision Zero” Action Plan

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, November 1, 2017

County Executive Isiah Leggett today presented to a Two-Year “Vision Zero” Action Plan toward eliminating severe and fatal collisions in Montgomery County. Under this plan, the county is putting resources in place to reduce severe and fatal collisions on County roads by 35 percent for vehicle occupants, bicyclists, and pedestrians, by November 2019.

“Vision Zero is an audacious goal,” said Leggett.  “It is one that we can all embrace and champion together in order to bring to zero the number of heartbreaking deaths and serious injuries due to traffic collisions. We have made progress. With Vision Zero, we can strengthen our efforts.”

Under the County’s Pedestrian Safety Initiative, between 2010 and 2016, there were 250 fewer severe and 33 fewer fatal collisions compared with the previous five-year average.

The Vision Zero concept for roadway safety originated in Sweden in 1997 and has more recently been adopted by more than two dozen jurisdictions in the United States. Montgomery County is one of the first counties in the United States to adopt Vision Zero.

Under the Two-Year “Vision Zero” Action Plan, the County will focus on County roads and continue working with the state of Maryland to reduce severe injuries and fatalities on state roads. At the same time, the plan calls for developing a Ten-Year Action Plan to eliminate severe and fatal collisions in Montgomery County by 2030.

The Two-Year “Vision Zero” Action Plan includes 41 specific action items to expand safety efforts. Action items are organized into five key areas: Engineering, Enforcement, Education and Training, Traffic Incident Management; and Law, Policy and Advocacy.

The working group that developed the plan included the Montgomery County departments of Transportation, Police, Fire and Rescue Service, Public Information, County Stat and other agencies. It also included members of the Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Traffic Safety Advisory Committee (PBTSAC) and other community groups. The PBTSAC and the general public considered and commented on the Action Plan during development.  

The Two-Year “Vision Zero” Action Plan and other resources can be found at montgomerycountymd.gov/visionzero.

Release ID: 17-439
Media Contact: Lorraine Driscoll 240-777-6507