Last week, City of Savannah staff presented the recently completed Vision Zero action plan to City Council. The public can view the plan by visiting www.savannahga.gov/visionzero.
The overarching goal of Vision Zero is to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries in Savannah by creating safer streets for everyone on the road. City Council approved the Vision Zero resolution on Feb. 24, 2022 and directed staff to develop an action plan for the initiative within one year.
“Regardless of how you may travel in Savannah, whether by car or bike or on-foot, we want you to get to your destination safely,” said Mayor Van Johnson. “Vision Zero will guide the City’s efforts to design transportation networks that prioritize safety with a focus on the unique and ever-evolving needs of our community.”
The Vision Zero action plan emphasizes substantive community engagement and collaboration, as well as continuous collection and analysis of data, to identify safety concerns and opportunities for improvement.
“I’m proud to say the Vision Zero action plan is a holistic, inclusive approach to traffic safety,” said Alderman Nick Palumbo. “This plan is a living document, designed to be as responsive to the diverse community it serves as it is aligned with the best practices in modern mobility management.”
As part of the plan, a Vision Zero Task Force will be created to bring together City staff, local officials, members of the community, and representatives from outside agencies to provide ongoing input on Vision Zero strategies, policies, and projects.
“I want to commend City staff, including our experts in traffic engineering and mobility planning, who have worked diligently in the last year to create an equitable and actionable plan for Vision Zero,” said City Manager Joseph A. “Jay” Melder. “We are excited as the City organization to take on a lead role in this effort. This action plan will help our community be a safer place for all forms of transit.”
LOCAL PROBLEMS and opportunities demand local solutions and initiatives. That’s one of the messages Ben Stone delivered to a gathering of 30 neighborhood leaders, government officials, and advocates Aug. 9 at Bull Street Labs.
We appreciate everyone who attended the meeting to show support for safe cycling in Forsyth Park and everywhere else in Savannah. Of the dozens who offered comments, only three expressed support for the ordinance. We have not yet completed a thorough review of the comments submitted through the city’s website, which were provided to us on Jan. 13, but an initial evaluation indicates only a small fraction of the more than 400 comments received were in favor of the bike ban.
By the end of the meeting, officials reframed the meeting and ordinance as the beginning of discussions about how to improve safety and access. City officials heard loud and clear what those who ride know all too well: Savannah’s bicycle infrastructure has not kept pace with demand and conditions are not safe for many residents and visitors who ride for recreation and transportation. Our city has the highest bike commuting rate in Georgia and is becoming a major bicycle tourism destination, yet of the nearly 700 miles of streets within the city limits, fewer than 20 are equipped with bicycle lanes that meet current standards. The creation of a city bicycle and pedestrian coordinator position, which was mentioned by Citizen Office Director Susan Broker, would be one positive step toward improving conditions for walking and bicycling in Savannah.
