Greater Manchester says Vision Zero is the next step in its mission to reduce the number of deaths or serious injuries caused on the city-region’s roads.
On 5 June, Greater Manchester’s active travel commissioner Dame Sarah Storey was joined by the region’s transport commissioner, Vernon Everitt, and other key stakeholders to announce the start of a detailed programme to fully develop the approach.
Road danger reduction experts, Agilysis, have been commissioned to develop the strategy in the coming months, with a first draft expected in Autumn.
As part of this work Agilysis will identify and engage with key stakeholders, including Greater Manchester Police and other emergency services, with a view to consulting with members of the public next year.
The strategy will then be adopted subject to agreement with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Greater Manchester says that by taking ‘decisive action’, around 3,800 unnecessary deaths and serious injuries could be prevented by 2040.
Dame Sarah Storey said on Monday: “Any death or serious injury on our roads is one too many, and these collisions are already devastating people’s lives.
“It’s heart-breaking to learn of a fatal or life-changing collision and sadly there have been some horrendous incidents very recently right on our doorstep. These incidents are neither acceptable or inevitable, and we should all be doing everything we can to prevent them.
“Today’s announcement is the first step on making that a reality and I hope the work that now follows will pave the way in making everyone feel safe when they take to the roads, whether that be in a car, on foot or on a bike.”
As well as aiming to stamp out serious injuries and deaths, Greater Manchester says Vision Zero will help tackle the impact on the emergency services and the cost to public finances, with the potential to save the city-region’s economy more than £4.5billion over the next 20 years.
The strategy will draw on best practice from other cities around the world and across the UK with Vision Zero strategies in place, including Stockholm, Oslo, London and Bristol.
Some of the effective measures to have been introduced include 20mph speed limits, safer junctions and segregated lanes for people to walk, wheel and cycle and increased enforcement for speeding vehicles.
Comment on this story