• February 11th, 2025
• 0 Comments

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), along with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Allegheny County, and the City of Pittsburgh, are furthering their commitment to ending traffic deaths and serious injuries on roads within Allegheny County through a new safety initiative called Vision Zero.

Vision Zero is a proven method of making streets safer. Its goal is to eliminate all fatal and serious injury traffic crashes. Endorsed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, funding has been allocated to more than 1,000 communities across all 50 states to develop Vision Zero programs.

Vision Zero is based on the Safe System Approach, which follows several guiding principles to provide a holistic safety approach for all forms of transportation. Vision Zero incorporates proactive, preventative improvements to roadway design and focuses on enhancing safety for all road users.

Locally, Mayor Gainey made the Vision Zero commitment for Pittsburgh in early 2024, and has started putting the policies and practices in place to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries.

This coordinated planning effort will result in a comprehensive Safety Action Plan for Allegheny County.

The planning team is looking for your input, and have planned a series of public meetings occurring on February 4 at 807 Wallace Street in Pittsburgh, February 5 at 1801 Dormont Avenue in Pittsburgh, February 6 at 1000 Beaver Grade Road in Moon Township, and February 11 at 8701 Perry Highway in Pittsburgh (all meetings will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.) as well as an online survey and mapping tool to gather feedback.

Get more information and take the survey here.

Update (May 5, 2025):

Allegheny County's Vision Zero safety initiative continues with the latest "Action Plan Timeline" planning:

• March through May 2025 – Countermeasure Identification
• May through July 2025 – Countermeasure Prioritization
• August through October 2025 – Phase 2: Public Engagement
• September through November 2025 – Documentation and Strategic Implementation
• Followed by Plan Adoption heading into 2026

Funded through USDOT's Safe Streets for All Program, the Safety Action Plan aims to expand the Vision Zero approach to safety planning across all ten counties in SPC's region upon its completion.

Many communities in the U.S. are working on safety action planning and implementation efforts. One national resource for this larger community of practice is the Vision Zero Network, which is a collaborative, nonprofit campaign helping communities set and reach the goal of Vision Zero — eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries among all road users — while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility.

Questions or requests for more detail about the Allegheny County Safety Action Plan can be directed to Evan Schoss, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission Manager of Transportation Operations & Safety, by emailing eschoss@spcregion.org.

Source: Bike Pittsburgh, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Allegheny County