Equity in Traffic Safety Planning: An Analysis of How Large U.S. Cities Address Equity in Vision Zero Plans

Details

• Alternative Title:
  How and to What Extent Do Vision Zero Plans Address Safety for Different Road User Groups? Project Title from Cover Page
• Creators:
  Dong, Xiaoxia ; Guerra, Erick ; Ryerson, Megan
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Pennsylvania ; Carnegie Mellon University. Traffic21 Institute. Safety21 University Transportation Center (UTC)
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Transportation equity
  • Analysis
  • Cities
  • Traffic safety
  • Transportation planning
  • Vulnerable road users
  • Data collection
  • Crash data
  • Traffic crashes
  • Transportation disadvantaged persons
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  611
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report (July 1, 2025 - July 31, 2026)
• Corporate Publisher:
  Carnegie Mellon University. Traffic21 Institute. Safety21 University Transportation Center (UTC)
• Description:
  Traffic safety outcomes are not distributed equitably across geographies and population groups. Through a content analysis of vision zero plans in 62 large U.S. cities, this study examines how cities incorporate social and spatial equity into vision zero plans, identifies gaps in safety equity analysis and improvement strategies, and investigates the challenges for addressing traffic safety equity. Results suggest that most of the plans made no clear indication of how they incorporated feedback from disadvantaged communities into the plan-making process. Only one plan incorporated equity into the discussion of vehicle safety. There is an urgent need to incorporate equity into outcome evaluation metrics. Vision zero plans guide cities' safety improvement efforts. Ensuring equity is adequately addressed in vision zero plans is critical to making streets safer for all road users. Cities should consider (1). Integrating equity into outcome evaluation by establishing measurable safety improvement metrics for disadvantaged communities and expanding data collection beyond traffic crashes. (2). Incorporating equity into discussions of state-local coordination to enhance safety. (3). Considering assistance programs for vehicle maintenance and inspection in vision zero plans and as part of cities' larger effort to promote mobility equity.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  69A3552344811 ; 69A3552348316
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/93555/dot_93555_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 658.75 KB]
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2deb06af2b83144fbed1f0115dcc80301ed891f3040e27dd2ea6c6c6b4e8e3181f1ab6b5a5b36979c7c59673e95469b9b190a62cbc315b8ea5fc69625be16c0b