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From Helsinki to Hoboken,
Vision Zero Is Saving Lives.

WHAT IS VISION ZERO?

VISION ZERO

Vision Zero is a global phenomenon that, since it started in 1997, has spread across the world and to more than 40 communities across the United States, including Hoboken.

Vision Zero is based on five key principles:

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  1. Traffic deaths and severe injuries are preventable.

  2. Human life and health are prioritized within all aspects of transportation systems.

  3. Human error is inevitable, and transportation systems should be forgiving.

  4. Safety work should focus on systems-level change above influencing individual behavior.

  5. Speed is recognized as the fundamental factor in crash severity.

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Vision Zero encourages cities to adopt achievable goals to prevent traffic-related severe injuries and fatalities. Hoboken’s goal is to eliminate all traffic-related injuries and fatalities by 2030.

Traditionally, traffic safety campaigns have focused on the efforts of individual stakeholders.

 

For example, a police department will conduct speed enforcement in a corridor with a known high rate of speeding violations or a street project will add bicycle lanes to a redesigned street. While these efforts do improve safety for roadway users, they are typically done independently from each other. Adherents to Vision Zero, on the other hand, will use a data-driven approach that attempts to redesign a street to prevent speeding and accommodate bicyclists or other micromobility users.

 

Another example of how Vision Zero encourages this paradigm shift relates to community outreach. Traditionally, vulnerable community groups identify with a community organization for support, but those groups aren’t consulted when important transportation safety decisions are made, despite the fact that historically, they are the most negatively affected by traffic-related injuries or deaths. A Vision Zero initiative identifies these vulnerable communities up front and engages with them from the beginning to ensure that they are an important part of the decision-making process at the most impactful stages. 

 

A final example that helps explain Vision Zero’s unorthodox approach focuses on vehicle sizes. Typically, City departments, such as the Environmental Services and Fire Departments will purchase large vehicles based solely on utilitarian need. Under the principles of Vision Zero, department directors are challenged to think about how these vehicles impact cities’ abilities to make street safety improvements, such as narrowing a travel lane to discourage speeding or install a bicycle lane. As a result of this shift in thinking, these departments find ways to incorporate smaller vehicles that help achieve their same utilitarian goals while also achieving the larger Vision Zero goal.

VISION ZERO IS UNORTHODOX, AND THAT'S GOOD
Successful implementation of a Vision Zero campaign requires coordinated cooperation between various City departments and community organizations.

To facilitate this coordination, Hoboken has assembled a Vision Zero Task Force representing stakeholder groups across City departments and community groups. The Task Force will unify the relevant operations of all City departments and bring to the table members of community groups that engage with Hoboken’s most vulnerable roadway users and residents interested in safe streets.

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The Vision Zero Task Force will:

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  • Spearhead the development of the Vision Zero Action Plan

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  • Ensure transparency by maintaining this website

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  • Develop mechanisms for coordinating City operations and leveraging the outreach strengths of community groups to address the contributing factors of crashes and address the safety concerns of everyone who uses the City’s transportation network

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  • Produce annual progress reports that will be shared with the public

Who is serving on the Vision Zero Task Force?
Name
Department/Organization
Ryan Sharp, co-chair
City of Hoboken Department of Transportation & Parking
Lt. John Petrosino, co-chair
Hoboken Police Department
Ron Bautista
Community Member
Chris Brown
City of Hoboken Department of Community Development
Kimberli Craft
City of Hoboken Office of the City Engineer
Mario Fini
Hoboken Fire Department
Tiffanie Fisher
Hoboken City Council
Greg Francese
City of Hoboken Department of Transportation & Parking
Jennifer Gonzalez
City of Hoboken Department of Environmental Services
Emily Jabbour
Hoboken City Council
Chetali Khanna
Hoboken Board of Education
Chris Adair
Bike Hoboken
Hector Mojica
Hoboken Parking Utility
Barkha Patel
Jersey City Division of Engineering, Traffic, and Transportation
Marc Recko
Hoboken Housing Authority
Jose Sieira
Hudson County Division of Engineering
Why Hoboken

WHY HOBOKEN?

While Hoboken is consistently rated as one of the nation’s most walkable and bicycle friendly cities in the United States, preventable injuries and deaths from crashes still happen in our community.

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During the five-year period from 2014-2018, there were 376 traffic-related injuries and 3 fatalities suffered on Hoboken’s streets. The impacts of these crashes weren’t felt evenly across all modes, however:

17%

of all crashes resulted in an injury

76%

of all bicycle-involved crashes resulted in an injury

83%

of all pedestrian-involved crashes resulted in an injury

3

All three deaths were pedestrians

Click here for a summary report of the 2014-2018 crash analysis.

Vision Zero Action Plan

VISION ZERO ACTION PLAN

The Hoboken Vision Zero Action Plan is now available

 

The Hoboken Vision Zero Action Plan was completed in March 2021. It focuses on near term recommendations to bring immediate improvements in traffic safety and make needed systemic changes. Many of the action items outlined in the plan can be implemented rapidly. Others are grounded in the understanding that it will take sustained commitment to traffic safety principles to bring about cultural, infrastructural, and policy changes that will be fundamental in realizing Vision Zero. The Action Plan represents feedback from over 2,200 people and the 18-member Vision Zero Task Force. 

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Hobokens High Crash Netwok

HOBOKEN'S HIGH CRASH NETWORK

The high crash network comprises both street segments and intersections where higher numbers of crashes are occurring relative to the rest of the city. This network is based on data from the five-year crash analysis, which include crashes that occurred between 2014 and 2018. This network may change over time as new data become available.

High Crash Segments


40% of Hoboken's injury and deadly crashes occurred on only 10 corridors between 2014 and 2018. These high crash corridors experienced three or more crashes per block during the five year analysis period.

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High Crash Intersections

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Of the 64 intersections in Hoboken which had a fatal or injury crash between 2014 and 2018, six had ten or more such crashes. These locations comprise the high crash intersections.

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PROJECT UPDATES

Project Updates
Crash Fact Sheet Available

 

The 2014-2018 crash analysis is the City of Hoboken's baseline crash data. The strategies and action items included in the Action Plan will address common contributing factors for crashes that occurred during this 5-year period. Moving forward, the City will perform an annual review of available crash data to measure progress towards achieving the Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic-related injuries and fatalities by 2030. Click here to view a summary of the findings from the 2014-2018 crash analysis.

Hoboken Vision Action Plan Now Available

 

The Hoboken Vision Zero Action Plan was completed in March 2021. It focuses on near term recommendations to bring immediate improvements in traffic safety and make needed systemic changes. Many of the action items outlined in the plan can be implemented rapidly. Others are grounded in the understanding that it will take sustained commitment to traffic safety principles to bring about cultural, infrastructural, and policy changes that will be fundamental in realizing Vision Zero. The Action Plan represents feedback from over 2,200 people and the 18-member Vision Zero Task Force. 

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Click here to view the Hoboken Vision Action Plan.

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