Vision Zero Action Plan

Current participation opportunities:

Have you ever experienced or witnessed a near-miss? Take the Near-Miss Survey!

Project Overview

In 2023, Baltimore experienced 45 tragic deaths on its roadways, with over half of those fatalities involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and scooter riders. Each one of these lives lost is a stark reminder that no death is acceptable on our streets. We are committed to eliminating all roadway fatalities and serious injuries. Through the Vision Zero Action Plan, we are focusing on creating a comprehensive, data-driven strategy to make Baltimore’s streets safer for everyone.

The completion of this Action Plan will mark the end of Toward Zero Baltimore and the beginning of Vision Zero Baltimore. With the adoption of Vision Zero, Baltimore City will commit to a deadline for eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries from its roadways. This Action Plan will be our roadmap.

How We’re Making a Difference

A Data-Driven Approach to Safety:

In collaboration with Morgan State University and the University of Maryland, we are developing innovative models that leverage a wide range of data to assess the injury risks associated with current infrastructure. This initiative aims to prioritize safety projects based on need and effectiveness, ensuring the best use of resources.

The first ever Baltimore City High Injury Network (HIN)

Public Health Impacts:

Through our partnership with Johns Hopkins University, we analyze proposed projects' public health benefits. By identifying areas where safety improvements can have the most significant impact, particularly in underserved communities, we are committed to enhancing the quality of life across the city.

A prioritized list of projects on the HIN, ranked by their capacity to improve lives

Community Engagement and Market Research:

Understanding how to communicate transportation safety and health effectively is critical to achieving Vision Zero. We are conducting market research to identify the best strategies for public health messaging and community engagement. These efforts will include paid opportunities for local residents, fostering deeper involvement in the mission to make Baltimore’s streets safe for all.

Branding, communications, and programming to drive behavior change

Policy:

Eliminating roadway deaths and serious injuries is a complicated problem needing an all-hands-on-deck approach. Our team will research best practices in multi-disciplinary safety policies that the City can implement across its agencies. Policies may also include recommendations for entities outside of Baltimore City government, including for private businesses, organizations, and institutions.

Policies to encourage safe roadway behavior

Safe Streets for All: The Origins

The Vision Zero Action Plan is part of the larger Safe Streets For All program, launched in 2022 as a component of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This initiative, backed by USDOT with a $5 billion commitment over five years, requires that participating jurisdictions develop a qualifying Action Plan to be eligible for safety funding. In February 2023, we secured a $1.005 million grant to create our Vision Zero Action Plan, supplemented by $100,000 in local funding. Additional support includes approximately $200,000 in in-kind contributions from Morgan State, UMD, and Johns Hopkins staff, demonstrating a strong commitment from Baltimore’s academic partners.

Using the Vision Zero Action Plan

The Vision Zero Action Plan will serve as our guiding document for future transportation investments. By prioritizing resident safety as our top objective, this blueprint will allow us to pursue funding for critical infrastructure projects and safety programs. Once adopted, the plan will empower us to apply for funding to execute projects outlined in the Vision Zero roadmap. Even before full adoption, we can seek funding to implement and assess pilot safety projects, using insights from these projects to continually improve and expand our safety strategies.

We are committed to creating a safe, accessible, and inclusive roadway network for all who travel through our city. With Vision Zero, we’re not just planning for the future—we’re building it today.

How you can get involved

While we have access to a robust history of crashes, courtesy of our police, crash reports don't always tell the whole story. For instance, crashes are sometimes unreported and the data can occasionally have missing fields. Help us fill information gaps by sharing your lived experience on our roads in the comment box at the bottom of this page.

Have you ever experienced or witnessed a near-miss? A near-miss is when a life-threatening collision is narrowly avoided. For example, perhaps someone ran a red light just as you were about to cross the street and you jumped back to get out of the way. These events can help us better understand where people are most endangered on our roads.

Have you ever experienced or witnessed a near-miss? Take the Near-Miss Survey!