'Vision Zero': Oklahoma City Seeks Public Input On Plan To Reduce Traffic Fatalities

The City of Oklahoma City wants the public’s input on a new plan to reduce traffic fatalities in the metro. Their first public comment opportunity is Saturday night until 7 PM at Juneteenth on the East.

The plan is called Vision Zero because the goal is to eliminate traffic fatalities completely.

"We'll be looking at all our most dangerous spots in our city to see what we need to do to make them safer," Justin Henry, City of Oklahoma City transportation planner, said.

In a society that's always on the go, the question is: how do you keep people safe on the way from point A to point B?

"Unfortunately, we've seen a rise in our traffic fatalities recently," Henry said.

Fatalities are up 35% in Oklahoma City in the last five years according to the city’s data.

"Kind of peaking recently, in 2021 we had 99 traffic fatalities in a single year," Henry explained.

He says they're looking to mimic other city's success with Vision Zero.

"New York City for example has gotten their traffic fatalities down by 30% by using the same kind of plan," Henry said.

Vision Zero will target quote problem areas across the city, like dangerous intersections or aging roadways.

"It'll have an education component, an enforcement component. It'll also have an engineering component where figure out some spots on some of our streets and intersections where we might be able to redesign them in a way that's safer," Henry said.

He added that the city has data showing where accidents occur frequently, but the city still wants to hear from the public.

“We need to hear from the public about what they see," he said.

The next opportunity for public comment will be Wednesday, June 26th from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Mid-Week Famers Market in Lower Scissortail Park. After the public engagement phase, the city hopes to present a plan for adoption by the city council at the end of this year.