Collision numbers are down in Edmonton since Vision Zero was created in 2015.
Traffic safety experts and industry leaders gathered at the Edmonton Expo Centre Thursday to discuss how to make city roads safer—especially after cannabis legalization.
Collisions involving pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists have declined since Vision Zero started, the city said in a press release, although pedestrians accounted for 33 per cent of traffic-related deaths last year.
“We’ve been continuing to see a downward trend, which is very positive,” said Gerry Shimko, the city’s traffic safety executive director. “We’ve been executing on engineering programs, education programs, public engagement and looking at continually reducing fatals and serious injuries.”
Now cannabis legalization poses a new challenge for the program and Edmonton police.
Const. Braydon Lawrence said EPS have caught two high drivers in the past week. They do not have roadside testing devices yet, but police did hire 33 drug recognition experts.
“We’ve done as much as we can in the last year and a half to get us up to there, but the reality is, would we have liked another five years to be exactly where we are? Absolutely, there’s no question about that,” Const. Braydon Lawrence said.
Edmonton was the first Canadian city to officially adopt Vision Zero.
With files from Timm Bruch
