Hey - I'm the reporter of this story. I'm sorry you have issue with the headline, but I wouldn't say it's a lie to make this pledge. Vision Zero is really about doing everything you can to make a roadway safe.
In my previous story (https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/west-hartford-fatal-crash-vision-zero-17693929.php) the mayor mentioned that part of this is the fact that human error is inevitable. The other part of this is that roadways can be made to be more forgiving, i.e., if a road is designed with traffic calming in place and speeds are reduced, it's less likely that a crash caused by human error or whatever other mitigating factor will be a fatal crash. As advocates have told me: things do happen, but things can also be put into place to ensure those things aren't the worst case scenario when they do happen.
It would obviously be a bit naïve of all of us to think that New York City, which also has committed to Vision Zero policies, would literally eliminate all roadway deaths. But that doesn't mean they, West Hartford and the other 40-something municipalities in the country that are going Vision Zero can't pledge to do their very best to make roads as safe as possible. That's really what this is about.
Happy to answer any questions on this topic in West Hartford, by the way. I've been reporting on it in-depth since June, when the town had its first pedestrian fatality of the year, and it's a topic close to my heart as I also navigate this town as a pedestrian much of the time.
micwalsh t1_j3ycijy wrote
Reply to comment by CTrandomdude in 'People don't feel safe': West Hartford pledges to eliminate roadway deaths by -ctinsider
Hey - I'm the reporter of this story. I'm sorry you have issue with the headline, but I wouldn't say it's a lie to make this pledge. Vision Zero is really about doing everything you can to make a roadway safe.
In my previous story (https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/west-hartford-fatal-crash-vision-zero-17693929.php) the mayor mentioned that part of this is the fact that human error is inevitable. The other part of this is that roadways can be made to be more forgiving, i.e., if a road is designed with traffic calming in place and speeds are reduced, it's less likely that a crash caused by human error or whatever other mitigating factor will be a fatal crash. As advocates have told me: things do happen, but things can also be put into place to ensure those things aren't the worst case scenario when they do happen.
It would obviously be a bit naïve of all of us to think that New York City, which also has committed to Vision Zero policies, would literally eliminate all roadway deaths. But that doesn't mean they, West Hartford and the other 40-something municipalities in the country that are going Vision Zero can't pledge to do their very best to make roads as safe as possible. That's really what this is about.
Happy to answer any questions on this topic in West Hartford, by the way. I've been reporting on it in-depth since June, when the town had its first pedestrian fatality of the year, and it's a topic close to my heart as I also navigate this town as a pedestrian much of the time.
Thanks for reading!