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TPO adopts local safety performance targets aiming to cut fatalities and serious injuries
Summary
The Knoxville TPO adopted locally set safety performance targets for 2021–2025 that align with its regional Vision Zero commitment: staff recommended a 5% annual reduction (two‑thirds by 2045) in fatalities and serious injuries, and the board approved local targets by voice vote to enable tracking and grant applications.
The Knoxville Transportation Planning Organization adopted local safety performance targets at its Feb. 1 meeting, directing staff to track progress against locally set goals that mirror the region’s Vision Zero aim to reduce fatalities and serious injuries by two‑thirds by 2045.
Mike Conger of TPO staff presented background and recommended local targets for five federally required safety measures (number of fatalities, fatalities per vehicle‑mile traveled, number of serious injuries, serious injuries per VMT and non‑motorized fatalities and serious injuries). Conger said the TPO could continue to support state targets but the technical committee recommended establishing local targets to align with the regional roadway safety action plan adopted in 2023.
Conger described the local approach as mathematically equivalent to a 5% annual reduction in fatalities and serious injuries starting in 2024 to reach the two‑thirds reduction by 2045. He walked through recent five‑year average trends and preliminary 2024 data; Conger noted a higher preliminary fatality/serious‑injury count for 2024 that would make meeting the initial year target challenging without additional interventions.
"We wanna figure out why we're having these issues and target projects and plans to address those," Conger said, emphasizing that the targets are intended to focus programming and grant efforts. The TPO chair added, "Public safety is the most important function of government," and urged members to treat the initiative with priority.
The board approved the local targets by voice vote; the meeting record does not list individual roll‑call tallies. Conger and members discussed grants and programs already underway that support the targets, including Federal Highway Safe Streets and Roads for All awards in the region, TDOT Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) projects and several local planning grants and demonstration projects (Chapman Highway and other corridor planning efforts were cited).
Conger said the TPO will continue to refine data collection methods (including parsing VMT for partial‑county MPO boundaries) and will coordinate Vision Zero staff updates to the board; the city’s Vision Zero coordinator is expected to present details of local initiatives at a future meeting.
