We, the undersigned, call on the City of Ottawa to enact a strong Vision Zero policy in order to reduce and eliminate deaths on Ottawa’s streets.
Despite the clear need for safety improvements on our roads, the city is only inching forward. For example, with the city’s new 2020-2024 Road Safety Action Plan, while Ottawa has formally approved a target of zero fatalities by 2035 it has no clear strategy on how to get there. The city’s policy goal aims for a 20% reduction in severe injury and death by 2024. The City needs to enact sweeping policy reforms that would address safety challenges at a systemic level, while identifying a clear strategy to reach zero traffic fatalities faster.
The drafting of the Transportation Master Plan in the next two years is a major opportunity to rectify this gap and embed strong Vision Zero policies and substantial measures to make our streets safer, such as:
- higher safety standards for infrastructure;
- more segregated bike lanes and pedestrian crossovers;
- reducing the speed limit to 30 km/h on residential streets and other areas like school zones;
- eliminating right turns on red; and
- altering traffic signals to give vulnerable road users priority over vehicles.
We urge you to show leadership in boldly implementing an ambitious Vision Zero policy for our city.