The local community offers feedback on the Vision Zero Roanoke project

Roanoke, Virginia – On Monday night, the public was asked to weigh in on a strategy to reduce the number of fatal and catastrophic car crashes in the city.

In order to identify the high-priority areas that will best serve the needs of the community, Director of Strategy Andy Clark stated, “We want to get the public’s input about where those places are and then kind of match them up with where the data say things are dangerous.”

The goal of Vision Zero Roanoke is to end traffic crashes that result in death or serious injuries.

According to Clark, the city is considering solutions for the high-crash regions.

“This initiative is an attempt to stop the somewhere between 10 and 12 people who lose their lives and 50 or more who are seriously injured on the city’s streets every year,” Clark stated.

To align with safety measures, a variety of initiatives will be developed based on input from the community.

“Distracted drivers are one of the major issues we deal with,” Vice Mayor Joe Cobb of Roanoke City stated. Looking at the crash map that Vision Zero produced reveals the locations of the city’s traffic incidents. I believe there are certain difficulties when big trucks drive on relatively small residential roads.

Over 8,500 crashes have occurred in Roanoke in the last five years, with 317 of those resulting in fatalities or serious injuries.

“We want to ensure that people can cross the street safely in order to go to and from bus stops, as we are aware that pedestrian crashes frequently occur at bus stops. Schools and school zones are located in roughly similar areas around the city, according to Clark.

Throughout the week, there will be more public meetings.