Developing the Plan
The Capital Region Transportation Council (the Transportation Council), supported by the New York State Department of Transportation, is collaborating with the cities of Albany, Saratoga Springs, Troy, and Watervliet, as well as the Village of Green Island to develop a Vision Zero Safety Action Plan for the Capital Region.
The Vision Zero Safety Action Plan will build off the Transportation Council’s 2019 Local Road Safety Action Plan. The Plan will focus on a reduction of fatal and serious injury crashes to an eventual goal of zero, and include:
All public roadways;
Additional public input focused on underserved communities;
Systemic safety analysis;
Area speed limit recommendations; and,
A prioritized listing of actionable projects that includes infrastructure projects eligible for Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding in New York State.
SPRING 2024
Equity Priority Areas
One of the first steps in the planning process is the identification of equity priority areas to ensure resources are directed to communities that have been historically marginalized in transportation planning processes. Specifically, underserved areas and vulnerable road users will be identified as part of this assessment.
The project team will work with the community and its partners to analyze existing conditions and historical trends over at least five years, including pre-COVID data, to provide a baseline level of crashes involving fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads across the region. This will include an analysis of crash locations, their severity, as well as contributing factors and crash types by relevant road users (motorists, people walking, transit users, etc.).
Safety Analysis
SPRING/SUMMER 2024
Speed Limits
SUMMER 2024
Where possible the project team will attempt to provide sufficient documentation to appropriately lower area speed limits in Green Island, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Troy, and Watervliet, including a detailed listing of all streets/roads to be reduced to 25 mph.
SUMMER/FALL 2024
Project Selection & Demonstration
Based on all available data, including any collected during this effort, the project team will identify a comprehensive list of proposed projects and strategies that aim to address safety problems.
The project team will then implement a minimum of ten small-scale, temporary demonstration projects throughout the region to test the proposed recommendations, assess the benefits, and refine the future scope of those proposed projects.
Targeted Safety Investigations
FALL 2024
Next, the project team will devise detailed safety investigations at specific sites, along corridors, and/or at locations with high risk characteristics to refine the list of potential projects.
FALL 2024
Policy & Process Recommendations
The project team will review possible revisions to current policies, plans, guidelines, and/or standards to identify opportunities to proactively improve transportation safety.
WINTER 2024/2025
Draft Vision Zero Safety Action Plan
The draft plan will be made available to the public for a 30-day review period and will be revised as necessary based on public feedback.
In addition to recommended projects, strategies, and policies, the draft Vision Zero Action Plan will include several metrics to track progress over time, provide ongoing transparency, and ensure implementation of the Plan’s recommendations.
SPRING 2025
Final Vision Zero Safety Action Plan
The final Vision Zero Safety Action Plan will incorporate all public and municipal feedback and will be made available in both digital and paper formats.