The City of Edmonton says an initiative designed to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries is working.
The 2018 numbers for Vision Zero are out, and they show that the number of deaths on city streets dropped from 27 in 2017 to 19 in 2018, the lowest number in the last 13 years.
There were also fewer crashes in 2018 than 2017, 3,307 down from 3,389.
The city is crediting added crosswalks and more clearly marked school zones with for the decrease.
“Collisions may occur, but together, with safe road designs, the severity of collisions is being reduced,” Gerry Shimko of the Office of Traffic Safety said.
The program was introduced in 2015 with a goal of zero deaths or major injuries by 2032.
However, in the last week, one man was killed in a motorcycle crash, and two teenage girls were hit by a school bus. One of those girls is still in hospital. The stretch of road where the girl was hit is between two school zones, has a 50 kilometre an hour speed limit, and no crosswalk.
“Something has to be done,” Julie Lawrence, the aunt of the injured girl said on Thursday. “It’s ridiculous that it’s a 30, 50, 30 zone.”
Shimko says he knows there’s more work to be done, but he believes it’s possible that Vision Zero could be more than just a vision.
“Other smaller cities have done it, so it IS achievable.”
With files from Bill Fortier
