Released: October 6, 2023
New action plan aims to make county streets and roads safe for all residents
Delaware County is working to help build a safer transportation system for our county through the adoption of a bold new strategy called Vision Zero, which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries and ensure safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all residents.
Vision Zero is a fundamentally different way to approach traffic and embraces what is referred to as a “Safe Systems” approach, based on Safe System Principles. These principles recognize that traffic deaths are preventable, that humans will make mistakes, and that saving lives does not have to be expensive.
While traffic injuries have trended down in recent years, the total number of traffic accidents have trended up. Since 2016, over 24,000 traffic accidents have occurred — with nearly 1,000 accidents involving pedestrians — and with over 67% of all accidents resulting in injury. Vision Zero aims to address these numbers and make our community a safer place to drive, bike, and walk.
The Delaware County Planning Department is now actively working on an Action Plan to make Delaware County streets and roads safer. To fulfill the goal of Vision Zero, the Action Plan will Identify a High Injury Network (HIN) based on PennDOT crash data to identify the areas with safety concerns. With this data, Planning will help establish an implementation program to help eliminate traffic fatalities in our County and help to educate and guide our municipalities to transition to Vision Zero policies.
Community Engagement: We Want to Hear from You!
Although data-driven, a significant part of the Vision Zero Action Plan is robust community engagement and collaboration with County residents. We invite residents to provide input and explain their priorities to address traffic issues that they are experiencing across our county.
To gather this critical input, the Planning Department will be tabling at multiple community events in the upcoming months. Residents are invited to stop by and share their thoughts at the following locations and dates:
Fri., Oct. 6, 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: Chester City Food Truck Festival
Sat., Oct. 7, 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Haverford Township Day and Upland Fall Festival
Sat., Oct. 21, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Bike Rodeo at Eyre Park
Sat., Oct. 28, 3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.: Folcroft Community Day
Delaware County residents can also share their ideas by participating in the Vision Zero Community Engagement Survey online at DelcoPA.gov/VisionZeroDelco.