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Council hears regional road-safety plan, considers Vision Zero policy to reduce severe crashes by 2050
Summary
City staff briefed the council on a metropolitan planning organization safety plan that recommends 74 Chattanooga projects and three Vision Zero policy options; adopting Vision Zero would be an aspirational commitment tied to potential federal SS4A grant funding, including a $17 million implementation application.
Chattanooga city staff presented a regional Comprehensive Safety Action Plan developed by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County-North Georgia MPO and asked council to consider adopting a Vision Zero policy that would commit the city to a long-term goal of zero road deaths and serious injuries by 2050.
Karen Renick, who led the presentation for RPA/MPO partners, said the plan used USDOT’s Safe System approach and identified 74 projects specifically for Chattanooga alongside regional recommendations for infrastructure, behavior and policy changes. She told council that the MPO has already recommended Vision Zero policies and that adopting a policy positions Chattanooga to apply for federal Safe Streets for All (SS4A) implementation grants; staff noted the city has previously given permission to pursue a $17 million implementation grant application.
The plan, compiled by MPO staff and consultants, maps where crashes are most severe across the region, lists infrastructure and program recommendations (including school-zone automation, neighborhood speed-watch programs and technology platforms to flag high-risk intersections) and provides three model Vision Zero policy texts that jurisdictions may adopt. Renick said the MPO’s work was funded in part by PL dollars and grants through TDOT and GDOT, and she attributed leadership on the plan to MPO coordinator Melissa Taylor and board chair Darren Ledford.
Council members did not vote on adoption at the meeting but were briefed that a resolution to adopt the Comprehensive Safety Action Plan and a Vision Zero policy will be on next week’s agenda. The presentation noted a local project list and said the plan includes nine pages of Chattanooga-specific recommendations and examples of short-term demonstration grants that have already been awarded to nearby jurisdictions. Staff emphasized ongoing interdepartmental coordination among Public Works, DTS, Police, Fire and neighborhood services and said updated information and project maps would be available on a City of Chattanooga safer-streets webpage.
If council adopts Vision Zero and later approves implementation grant applications, staff said projects would be eligible for federal implementation funding but would also require local match and departmental coordination for roll-out. The council deferred detailed technical questions to planning and zoning and public-works staff and expected further implementation briefings before any binding financial commitments.
Council next steps: the MPO resolution and Vision Zero adoption language will appear for council consideration next week; if adopted, staff said it will be used as part of grant applications and implementation planning.
