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Worcester Vision Zero Safety Action Plan

In the wake of several traffic crashes, the City of Worcester created the Department of Transportation and Mobility, released a city-wide master plan, and developed a mobility action plan. To further their commitment to Vision Zero, the City engaged our team to help them develop a federally-compliant Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Safety Action Plan.

We worked with the City to address their high crash rates with a comprehensive Safe Systems Approach. This included key party engagement, identification of high-injury roadways, and evaluation of risk factors. The approach also promotes enhanced partnerships across City departments and like-minded organizations in Worcester.

We led public engagement efforts such as interactive pop-ups, safety demonstration projects at a school, and walking audits across the city. The first public event featured Jeff Speck, author of Walkable Cities, which helped set the stage for reframing community discussions around safety, Vision Zero, and making trade-offs on streets versus leaving the status quo.

Our team paired online and in-person surveys and feedback with data-driven insights on crash trends and risk factors to develop a High Injury Network (HIN) and Priority Network that pinpoints where the most severe crashes, threats, and concerns occur. We applied an equity analysis to the layered networks to explore how overburdened and underserved communities have been impacted by traffic crashes. Driven by further tragedies during the study, the City Manager declared a ¡°traffic violence crisis,¡± and we supported City employees and councilors working to rebuild community trust and deliver actionable solutions.

The final Vision Zero Action Plan and supporting analyses define where the City and their partners can focus their safety improvement efforts for years to come.