September 2025 Vision Zero e-News
Know someone who is passionate about advancing safe streets? Pass this newsletter along, invite them to sign up for monthly updates and check out our online Vision Zero resources.
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Slow Down Speeders: Using Intelligent Speed Assistance in Your Community
Local governments have more tools to curb dangerous speeding than many realize and Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) is one of them. Join us on September 16 to see how cities are leveraging ISA: from piloting the technology in municipal fleets to implementing state-level policies that address "super speeders."
You’ll hear firsthand lessons from those piloting and using ISA and learn how the technology can strengthen speed management strategies as part of the Safe Speeds and Safe Vehicles components of the Safe System approach. Attendees will also come away with actionable tips on policies, procurement, and communication to put ISA to work now.
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Safe Speeds Save Lives: Join Us in Calling for Change
Are you ready to stand up for safe speeds? Each year, tens of thousands of people are killed in this country in crashes that could have been avoided or mitigated with safe street design, more appropriate speed limits and the use of speed management technologies.
We know all too well that higher speeds increase risks of fatality exponentially, as well as by reducing a driver’s reaction time, lengthening their braking distance and narrowing their field of vision. But too often, we fail to use proven tools to manage speeds to safer levels – such as smarter street design, safer speed limits and existing technologies, such as speed safety cameras and Intelligent Speed Assistance. Let’s stop failing.
Join us to demand safe speeds as part of this year’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDoR). The theme for the U.S. event is Safe Speeds Save Lives. Whether you are part of an advocacy group or someone directly impacted by a crash or work with a city, county or state agency – you can join us to add your voice to the call for safe streets for all.
We invite you to host a WDoR event or action in your community - on November 16, 2025. Together, we can amplify the call for life-saving strategies to prioritize safety over speed. To support you, we’re offering monthly nationwide calls for organizers – the next one is on September 10th, 1–2 pm ET / 10–11 am PT. Join us to access helpful tools, examples and guidance to host powerful, effective events to help make change. Join us and be part of this national movement for safe speeds.
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People Behind the Progress: Zoe Scott Helps Knoxville to Walk the Walk
Interested in engaging, effective ways to bring together residents, advocates and policymakers for safe streets? Get ready to be inspired by our latest People Behind the Progress profile. Zoe Scott, Advocacy Director for Bike Walk Knoxville, organizes safety tours where elected officials can literally walk the walk (or ride the ride) through Knoxville’s neighborhoods – alongside residents – to experience local infrastructure firsthand. These tours create powerful “aha” moments, helping turn sometimes dry, abstract concepts such as crosswalk timing or turning radii into lived experiences that build understanding and support for safety changes.
“It doesn’t take hiring a contractor to say ‘This intersection isn’t safe.’ A neighbor who crosses it every day can do that,” Zoe shares in our interview. Find out how she and other advocates channel these on-the-ground experiences and coalition-building activities, including Knoxville’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, into effective strategies to humanize the need for safe streets.
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Webinar Save the Date: Mapping What Matters for Pedestrian Safety, Oct. 23
Many communities lack reliable, up-to-date information about essential elements of their transportation systems, preventing them from making the case for safety improvements. Join us October 23rd for a webinar with Ecopia AI – Mapping What Matters: Building Safer Transportation Systems with Pedestrian Asset Data – to learn about new tools to assess your community’s infrastructure and strengthen proposals to invest in change for safe streets.
We’ll learn about how communities are using Ecopia's mapping technology to leverage highly precise transportation features from the latest imagery, providing vectorized data of critical infrastructure, including roads, individual traffic lanes, intersections, sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes and more. We’ll also hear from planners with the State of Rhode Island, who will share their experiences applying high-precision data for pedestrian safety analysis. Whether you’re a planner, engineer or policymaker, this session will offer practical ways to use advanced mapping tools for healthier and safer communities.
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Share Your Vision Zero Success Stories With Us
Skeptics might ask: “Is Vision Zero worth it? Can we really make progress?”
The answer is yes. Across the U.S., communities are seeing results when they implement safe street designs, especially in systemwide, proactive ways. From Cleveland to Madison and Santa Rosa to Austin, communities have underscored that when they invest in Vision Zero, we see real, measurable results. Whether it’s lowering speed limits, retiming signals or piloting traffic calming changes, these small, scalable changes can lead to meaningful safety results. And by celebrating these victories we’re not just acknowledging what’s been achieved, we’re also paving the way for more investments and safety progress.
Do you have a Vision Zero success story to share? We’d love to hear about it! We’re gathering stories to highlight how investing in proactive, preventative Safe System strategies on our streets delivers safer travel for all. If you’ve worked on, or know of a project, in the past five years that’s shown measurable progress, please share it in this form so we can add your project to the growing list of Vision Zero progress happening across the country. Small-scale examples are welcome because these show what's possible!
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What's New & Interesting in Vision Zero?
- New Data from NHTSA: Pedestrian & Bicyclist Safety in 2023: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released its 2023 data on pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Pedestrian deaths decreased slightly by 3.7% from 2022, while bicyclist deaths rose by 4%, along with an 8% increase in injuries. These numbers are a reminder that, despite some shifts, the U.S. still faces serious challenges in protecting people walking and biking. For communities seeking to build on this change, check out NACTO’s Urban Bikeway Design Guide and FHWA’s toolkit for pedestrian & bicycle safety.
- Dutch-Style Protected Intersections Prove Effective: Communities like Fremont, CA and Charlotte, NC are installing Dutch-style protected intersections, featuring football-shaped corner islands, extended bike lane crossings, and tighter turning radii, to enhance safety for cyclists and pedestrians. This protected design creates safer areas for people walking and biking to wait as they place them in clear view of drivers, shorten crossing distances, and encourage slower, sharper vehicle turns. A small‑scale evaluation of Fremont’s Walnut Avenue project found a steep decrease in crashes since the redesign. Learn more about how U.S. communities are leveraging these intersections.
- Mark Your Calendar: September 29 – October 5 is Week Without Driving. Now is the chance to get involved with Week Without Driving to help people better understand the barriers to mobility that many face every day. The campaign highlights how transportation access is deeply connected to economic stability, housing, public health, and social equity. Throughout the week, America Walks will be sharing stories, resources, and reflections on how accessibility shapes community wellbeing. Learn more at weekwithoutdriving.org.
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Road Safety Champion Program: Overview of the MUTCD
September 9, 2025 at 11am PT / 2pm ET
Hosted by the National Center for Rural Road Safety as part of their Road Safety Champion Program, this webinar will serve as an introduction and overview of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The MUTCD defines the standards by which traffic signs, road surface markings, and signals are designed, installed, and used on all streets, highways, bikeways, and more. Learn more and register.
Slow Down Speeders: Using Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) in Your Community
September 16, 2025 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET
See details above. Register here.
WDoR National Advocates Meeting
September 10, 2025 at 10am PT / 1pm ET
See details above. Register here.
Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Pedestrian Serious Injuries and Fatalities
September 18, 2025 at 11am PT / 2pm ET
Pedestrian fatalities in the US increased over 83% between 2009 and 2022, significantly more than the 16% increase for fatalities for those traveling within vehicles during the same period. Hosted by the Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety, this webinar will explore how pedestrian safety issues have shifted within urban, suburban, and rural contexts, with there being an identifiable shift in pedestrian crashes in the suburbs. This webinar will compile planning and engineering research into a more complete picture on emerging pedestrian needs. Learn more and register.
Bi-Monthly National Vision Zero Advocates Meeting
September 24, 2025 at 10am PT / 1pm ET
We continue to organize bi-monthly advocacy calls which bring together Vision Zero champions from across the country to share their perspectives, challenges, and experiences with each other. This month, we’re opening it up for those organizing World Day of Remembrance (WDoR) events to discuss advocacy strategies around lowering speeds, around this year’s WDoR theme of Safe Speeds Save Lives. If you work in such a capacity and are interested in participating, contact Tiffany Smith at Tif...@visionzeronetwork.org.
Mapping What Matters: Building Safe, More Inclusive Transportation Systems
October 23, 2025 at 10am PT / 1pm ET
See details above. Register here.
TrailNation Summit
October 27 - 29, 2025
Registration is open for the TrailNation conference. This event will bring together hundreds of regional leaders, planners, and advocates who are working to build a future where trail networks connect people and places across the country. Learn more and register until October 10.
Vision Zero Cities 2024: Conference in NYC
October 28-30, 2025
Registration is open for Transportation Alternatives’ 12th Annual Vision Zero Cities Conference in NYC. Take advantage of the chance to explore the intersections of policy, health, advocacy, innovation and more. Learn more and register.
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- Walking Paths as Everyday Infrastructure, Planetizen, September 1, 2025
- Feds Send Billions to States for Highways. Locals Want a Bigger Share, Governing, August 29, 2025
- Doomsday For SEPTA Is Bad News For Everyone, Streetsblog USA, August 27, 2025
- Repositioning U.S. Retail: More Malls as Mixed-Use Town Centers, Urban Land, August 26, 2025
- How To Beat Bikelash and Unleash the Silent Majority Who Wants Livable Streets, Streetsblog USA, August 25, 2025
- Salt Lake City approves $44M for parks, roads and safety upgrades, Axios, August 22, 2025
- Study: Boring Roads End Up With More Injuries For People Outside Cars, Streetsblog USA, August 21, 2025
- Minneapolis planners unveil design for pedestrian-only plaza at George Floyd Square, Minnesota Public Radio, August 20, 2025
- ‘Heartbreaking’ transportation cuts hit home in GOP districts, Politico, August 20, 2025
- Parking: The Dark Matter of the Urban Universe, Planetizen, August 20, 2025
- The Hidden Costs of One-Way Streets, Next City, August 20, 2025,
- Study: Fire Departments and Street Safety, StreetsBlog SF, August 20, 2025
- Road diets: Trump moves to block road safety measures that slow traffic and save lives, Milwaukee Independent, August 20, 2025
- Rethinking Transport Infrastructure Investments Through the Lens of ‘Bikenomics’, Transport Matters, August 18, 2025
- NYC unveils master plan to expand pedestrian, bicycle paths, August 18, 2025, Smart Cities Dive
- How Helsinki cut its traffic deaths to zero, Fast Company, August 12, 2025
- States rethink a long-held practice of setting speed limits based on how fast drivers travel, AP, August 11, 2025
- The US-Canadian Road Safety Gap Is Getting Wider, Bloomberg CityLab, August 13, 2025
- Dear Britain, it’s now clear: 20mph zones save lives and don’t slow traffic. Implement them, The Guardian, August 12, 2025
- Who Owns the Most Dangerous Roads in America? Likely Your State, StreetsBlog, August 11, 2025
- All Hail the Humble Speed Hump, Bloomberg CityLab, August 5, 2025
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Recent Vision Zero Resources
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Thank you for your interest in Vision Zero. If you appreciate this e-newsletter and our ongoing advocacy work, please support the nonprofit Vision Zero Network with a contribution. Your support makes a difference!
And take good care,
Tiffany, Leah, Kate & Jenn
Vision Zero Network Team
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