The Houston – Galveston Area Council’s (HGAC) Transportation Policy Council (TPC) voted unanimously to adopt a resolution establishing a goal to end traffic deaths in the 8-county Houston region by 2050.
In recent history, about 600 families have lost a loved one to traffic deaths in the Houston region, and another almost 3,000 people have suffered live changing serious injuries, such as loss of a limb or brain damage.
Every government in the State of Texas, every city, every county, and every Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) needs to adopt Vision Zero goals and develop their own strategies and action plans to end traffic deaths.
In 2019, the Texas Department of Transportation adopted a System Safety approach and the Texas Transportation Commission adopted a Road to Zero goal to end traffic deaths statewide by 2050 and increased safety funding with an additional $300 million a year dedicated to the Road to Zero program.
H-GAC is the first Texas MPO to adopt a clear Vision Zero goal, following a growing national trend for MPOs to adopt their own Vision Zero goals and strategies. The national Vision Zero Network has developed materials and events to assist MPOs in this work, including the Centering Safety at Metropolitan Planning Organizations report, and a recent Webinar “How MPOs Can Lead on Vision Zero & Equitable Mobility.”
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Farm&City submitted comments in support of the resolution and encouraging all members of the TPC to lead the adoption of Vision Zero goals and strategies for the cities and counties they represent. Our letter along with the Vision Zero Network report were included in the public comments for the meeting.
We also sent members this tabulation showing the annual economic costs of crashes is almost $7 billion and the annual comprehensive costs of traffic deaths for the people of the Houston region is about $36 billion, based upon National Safety Council methodologies and TXDOT CRIS Public Query data.
