Yesterday, on President Joe Biden’s first day in office, Farm&City and Central Texas Families for Safe Streets joined a nationwide coalition of leading traffic safety organizations and individuals calling on the President to commit to Vision Zero in order to end traffic deaths as a top priority of his first term. In his confirmation hearing on Thursday to become Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg led with a thoughtful note grounding all the work of the Federal Department of Transportation in safety.
According to the National Safety Council:
“Stepping up leadership to address the health crisis of 40,000 preventable traffic deaths each year should be part of the nation’s path forward to Build Back Better. This focus on safe mobility will also advance the intertwined goals of improving the climate, growing our economy and addressing racial justice in our nation.
“The efforts to get to zero traffic fatalities must address decades of policies and practices that have lessened mobility and economic opportunities for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). Research shows that BIPOC and low-income people in the U.S. are more likely to be killed or suffer severe injuries in traffic crashes , as these neighborhoods have been disinvested in over time, including a lack of adequate sidewalks and bikeways and an over-abundance of fast-moving, dangerous roadways. Frequently, programs and policies to support safety – such as those around jaywalking – disproportionately burden communities of color. The commitment to #ZeroTrafficDeaths must recognize the intersections of safe mobility with equity and justice for all.
“The hopeful news is there is so much we can do [to] make our streets safe, and prioritize our most vulnerable communities. For decades, we have had the proven countermeasures and interventions to improve traffic safety. We have watched as other countries made incredible progress towards this goal. Now, at a time when almost 40,000 lives are lost each year in crashes, we must bring together the knowledge, commitment and leadership necessary to join other countries in working towards a goal of zero deaths.”
https://www.nsc.org/road/resources/road-to-zero/call-on-president-biden-to-end-traffic-fatalities
An initial copy of the letter – with more than 74 organizations and individuals signed on – was sent to President Biden on Jan. 20. CLICK HERE to add your name
To learn more about the #ZeroTrafficDeaths campaign, visit zerotrafficdeaths.org
Farm&City is also working with organizations and individuals right here in Texas to promote the Vision Zero Texas legislative agenda. The Texas legislature is now more aware than ever before of the tragic toll of traffic crashes on Texas families. We need to gather a dedicated core of citizen advocates from across the state to get these common sense bills passed and signed by Governor Abbott, this year. You can help save lives on our streets.
We are looking to put together volunteer leadership teams of 5-8 people to help actively shepherd each bill through the legislative process. We are also looking for interested groups, organizations, companies, governments or elected officials to sign on as sponsors, and representative members to join our pool of volunteer advocates.
First Meeting: Vision Zero Texas volunteer leaders Thursday, January 28th, 4pm CST
SIGN UP BY RSVPING TO THE ZOOM MEETING TODAY
During this meeting you will have the chance to select the particular bill you wish to help shepherd through the legislative process, and join the fellow members of your team in break out groups.
Can’t join us at the meeting? CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE TEAM
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