Note: The Lawrence Times runs opinion columns and letters to the Times written by community members with varying perspectives on local issues. These pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Times staff.
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In light of Wednesday’s deeply troubling traffic crash that resulted in one man’s death and three people seriously injured, it is worth noting that the City of Lawrence has recently begun efforts to create a Vision Zero Action Plan.
Vision Zero is an international movement to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and serious injuries in communities. Traffic-related deaths and serious injuries are preventable, as demonstrated by the success of Vision Zero strategies in many parts of the world.
The most important way to achieve Vision Zero is to make our streets safer. Lawrence’s high-speed, wide arterial roads, like 31st Street, are lethal zones that encourage speeding, distracted driving and other dangerous behavior. City engineers all over the United States have designed roads like 31st Street for the past 75-plus years to move cars as quickly as possible. If Lawrence is serious about achieving zero road deaths and making streets safer for all road users, then our engineering road design standards must change to center safety over faster throughput for cars.
This is a question of our city’s moral and ethical choices. The silent car-crash epidemic must be treated as an urgent public health crisis in Douglas County, one that demands structural changes from city staff and political action from our city commissioners.
— Hilary Carter (she/her), Lawrence
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