City of Durham's Department of Transportation Achieves Vision Zero, Reducing Traffic Fatalities
About the City of Durham, NC
The City of Durham is located in the state of North Carolina, and is the county seat of Durham County. Durham is the 4th-most populous city in the sate, with about 300,000 residents. Durham is best known as home to several recognized institutions of higher education, most notably Duke University and North Carolina Central University. The City is the core of the four-county Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area, which has a population of about 550,000. It is also as a part of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Combined Statistical Area, commonly known as the Research Triangle, which has a population of more than 2 million. The City's annual budget is totaled at $477.8 million.
Challenge:
The City of Durham’s Department of Transportation had a goal to achieve Vision Zero to reduce traffic fatalities. However, the City lacked a comprehensive data analytics tool to survey its urban fabric.
You can find more information about Durham’s Vision Zero Plan here.
Solution:
The City of Durham’s Department of Transportation collaborated with State of Place to assess the impact of urban design on the risk of traffic collisions and associated injuries and fatalities. Using State of Place, Durham evaluated the relationship between existing hot-spots of pedestrian and bicyclists injuries/fatalities and urban design features, to identify changes that would have the biggest impact on pedestrian safety. The City was able to quantify the role of the built environment on road safety provides cities with design change prioritization.
Results:
The City of Durham has made significant progress towards its Vision Zero goal to eliminate all traffic fatalities - by quantifying the role of the built environment on road safety. They were also able to build in new metrics to measure and track progress toward Vision Zero goals. Now, Durham is a safer, more walkable, and accessible place due to State of Place.
Following this 12-week long project, State of Place created the Traffic Safety Module that can be applied worldwide. The module’s goals are to more effectively identify improvements that will maximize pedestrian safety and comfort, increase walkability, and create a more equitable, livable public realm.
