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Madison staff report Vision Zero progress: big gains on city‑controlled streets, rising serious crashes on state/county corridors
Summary
City staff reported reductions in fatalities on city‑controlled streets since Vision Zero launched in 2020, but cautioned that fatal and serious‑injury crashes rose markedly on non‑city‑controlled roadways (WisDOT/County) in 2023–24. Staff urged continued agency coordination to address high‑injury corridors.
Madison staff presented the city’s Vision Zero progress report covering 2023–24 at the June 3 Transportation Commission meeting, reporting substantial safety progress on city‑controlled streets while also flagging a troubling increase in fatal and serious‑injury crashes on corridors outside city control.
Key findings: Ben Diamondstein (data) said that since 2020 the city‑controlled roadway subset has seen a 58% reduction in fatalities and a 25% reduction in serious injuries, a result staff attributed to combined investments in street‑design countermeasures, the 20 is Plenty speed reductions and targeted safety projects. At the same time, staff reported a sharp increase on non‑city‑controlled routes (state and county highways within city boundaries): a 166% increase in fatal crashes and a 52% increase in serious‑injury crashes since 2020.
Public and technical context: Jessica and Yang summarized Vision Zero’s multifaceted approach — safe streets (design countermeasures, 20 is Plenty and speed management), safe people (education and VMT monitoring), safety‑focused enforcement, safer city fleet vehicles and improved data. Staff emphasized the city’s limited jurisdiction on interstates and state highways and said agency coordination with WisDOT and Dane County is essential to improve safety on those corridors.
Questions and follow up: Commissioners asked about data sources (VMT from StreetLight; crash records from state databases), the timeline for evaluating the citywide 20‑mph rollout (staff expect preliminary analysis within about a year as state data finalizes), and plans for a public crash‑data query tool. A public commenter urged treating the Vision Zero target as a citywide objective and called for more aggressive engagement with partner agencies to make non‑city corridors safer.
Next steps: staff said they will publish a crash‑facts data tool (work with a vendor) and continue to coordinate with partner agencies to address high‑injury corridors. The report signaled progress on city‑controlled streets while underscoring the need for regional cooperation to tackle highway corridors that carry a disproportionate share of fatal and serious crashes.
