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Madison has officially joined in the National League of Cities (NLC) “Safety First Challenge”. Within 100 days, this challenge aims to encourage 100 cities, towns and villages nationwide to commit to focusing their efforts on a safety-first approach to decisions about design and transportation planning for complete roadways.

Like many communities in the nation, the number of serious and fatal crashes in Madison is rising during the COVID pandemic. The launch of Madison’s Vision Zero Initiative, a data driven strategy that unites City departments and residents, is a comprehensive approach to transportation safety, including smarter street designs that account for human error, education, safety-focused enforcement, safe vehicles and community engagement.

Participating in the Safety Challenge further strengthens the City of Madison’s commitment to eliminate severe and fatal crashes in the city and helps foster a safety culture by collaborating with other communities across the nation. As a part of the Safety First Challenge, the City has also committed to being prepared to utilize the USDOT “Safe Streets and Roads for All” funding to accelerate infrastructure changes that will make streets safe. To make our projects competitive, the City is finalizing the Vision Zero Action Plan and using data to determine the most important projects and strategies that will move the City towards zero deaths and serious injuries on our streets.

“The City of Madison is grateful to the National League of Cities for creating this opportunity for cities across America to join the challenge to create safe streets for all roadway users,” said Yang Tao, City of Madison Traffic Engineer. “Joining this challenge is a natural next step for Madison and the Vision Zero work that we are doing for the community. We are excited to make this commitment and collaborate with other cities working towards the same safety goals.”

Vision Zero is just the beginning of our efforts in working towards a transportation culture where all members of our community feel safe while traveling on City streets. Being a part of the National League of Cities is just another way to demonstrate our passion and determination for safety, and hold ourselves accountable for truly reaching the goal of zero deaths. Madison is a strong community that works together to ensure safety for all people, no matter race, gender, age or background. We have come together to start an initiative that will save the lives of many people.

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