Louisville Metro Council committee approves Vision Zero initiative

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Zero traffic deaths within 30 years is the goal for a program which examines structural issues on city roads.

The ordinance on the table for Louisville Metro Council is the adoption of Vision Zero, which a proposal said would follow the lead of many other cities benefiting from the safety initiative.

The Public Works Committee members present in Tuesday's meeting voted unanimously to move the ordinance to the full council.

Amanda Deatherage, the transportation planner supervisor for the Public Works department presented the case for Vision Zero and how it could increase safety and mobility on Louisville roads.

Councilwoman Nicole George, D-21, said the program does three things: sets a goal for zero fatalities by 2050, updates existing traffic report and creates an action plan, and establishes a reporting requirement.

George said that, on average, a person is killed on Louisville roads every three days. More than 900 have died in crashes since 2014.

Janet Heston said her first-born son, Matthew, was hit by a car just before dawn on Nov. 21, 2020. He was one of 140 lives lost on Louisville roads that year, which was the highest number dating back to at least 2014.

"This is my mission in life now. To make sure that no one else has to go through what my son went through," Heston said.

She supports Vision Zero, which would help bring in federal dollars to study crash causes.

"And more often than not, it takes multiple factors for that crash to line up to happen," Deatherage said.

Weather, visibility, traffic and crosswalk location are just a few of the factors Deatherage said they want to examine, which would help the city take a targeted approach to eliminate risks.

"Things like roadway rightsizings, high visibility crosswalk improvements, maybe some signal, traffic signal improvements," Deatherage said.

She points to work already completed to transform Dixie Highway, a project designed to make the corridor safer for pedestrians. Kentucky State Police reports that the number of crashes there has decreased from 1,067.7 per year to 154.

Heston hopes to see a similar transformation of New Cut Road, and other streets that have claimed the lives of hundreds of Louisville residents.

"Less injuries, less death. Don't we want Louisville to be a safer place," Heston said.

With the vote to move the ordinance out of committee, George said it will be brought to the full Metro Council next week.

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