Draft plan will be available for public comment from January 25 through March 1, 2022
Annapolis, MD (Jan. 25, 2022) Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman and the Office of Transportation announced the release of the Draft Anne Arundel County Vision Zero Plan. An opportunity for the public to provide comments will begin Jan. 25, 2022 through March 1, 2022.
“When it comes to saving lives, our administration brings every relevant agency, community, and state and federal partners to the table,” said County Executive Pittman. “That’s what our Office of Transportation has been tasked to lead with Vision Zero. Please join this effort to eliminate death and serious injury on our roadways, and comment on the Draft Plan we are releasing today.”
Each year, more than 30,000 people – roughly the population of the City of Annapolis – are needlessly killed on our nation’s streets and thousands more are injured. From 2016-2020, there were 234 deaths and 1,311 serious injuries in Anne Arundel County, with bicycle and pedestrian users receiving a disproportionate share. Among the 24 jurisdictions in Maryland, Anne Arundel ranked 3rd for fatalities and 5th for serious injuries from motor vehicle related crashes.
Vision Zero is a multidisciplinary strategy and collaborative effort aimed at eliminating traffic related deaths and serious injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all. After having observed success in Sweden where it was mandated by their parliament in 1997, Chicago became the first in the Country to commit to Vision Zero in 2012. Since then, many other jurisdictions have followed, including the State of Maryland, which implemented Toward Zero Deaths in 2016 through its Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), and then adopted Vision Zero through legislation in 2019. In 2014, the MDOT Secretary urged all local jurisdictions to adopt a local SHSP. Prince Georges, Montgomery, Harford, Cecil, Howard, Carroll, and Baltimore County have done so.
Sam Snead, Director of the Office of Transportation said “Vision Zero is a data driven approach to eliminating death and serious injuries on our roadways. Fulfilling the goals of Plan 2040 and Move Anne Arundel, this Plan has been the effort of many County and State stakeholders who are dedicated to eliminating fatal or serious injuries through engineering of the roads, educational campaigns such as "Look Alive", enforcement programs, like Click it or Ticket, and emergency medical services. This plan is just the beginning though. We've set numeric goals and benchmark targets that will require the continued efforts of the agencies involved. This plan allows all of the agencies to come together regularly to develop strategies and share information to work toward a common goal. The collaborative effort reduces duplicity and working in silos, resulting in a cohesive, more effective outcome. Thanks to the many individuals who have, and will continue to have, a role in the development and implementation of this plan.”
Both the County’s General Development Plan, Plan 2040, and the County’s Transportation Master Plan, MoveAnneArundel!, called for the adoption of a Vision Zero Plan. With this plan, Anne Arundel County joins many others in the Country and the State in developing a plan that will include strategies to eliminate death and serious injuries. Through intense data analysis, the plan identifies the types of crashes that occur, categorizes them, and then focuses on developing countermeasures utilizing what are known in the industry as the four “Es:” Engineering, Enforcement, Engagement/Education, and Emergency Services as well as two overarching “Es,” Equity and Evaluation.
This plan brings together individuals from multiple government agencies to work in concert to develop, implement and track the performance of the strategies. It is a living document and requires continuous efforts of collaboration and coordination between those County agencies that affect roadway safety, road use behavior, and crash response. By adopting this plan, the County positions itself to be eligible for federal and state grant money to fund safety related projects.
To read and comment on the plan, visit www.aacounty.org/visionzero between January 25, 2022 and March 1, 2022.