BALTIMORE — Baltimore City officials released a new plan today that aims to get the city to zero traffic-related deaths and serious injuries within the next eight years.
Mayor Brandon Scott announced the adoption of the city's first Strategic Highway Safety Plan, whose mission is to get to zero traffic-related deaths/serious injuries by 2030.
The plan acknowledges that it's an "ambitious goal for the city." Baltimore had 70 fatal crashes in 2020, about 20-30 more than it had in the years between 2016 and 2019. There were also 1,044 serious-injury crashes in 2020, roughly the same as the average for the previous five years. About 30 percent of all crashes in the city involve injuries. The new plan notes that fatal crashes have not gone down in recent years.
The city also counts about 20 fatal pedestrian crashes each year, although those declined by about 40 percent between 2016 and 2020.
The new plan says getting to zero deaths will require "a fundamental shift in the ethos of Baltimore City towards its road infrastructure and transportation culture," and urges the city Department of Transportation to aggressively find state and federal money to pay for infrastructure improvements - which the plan is prioritizing.
The plan says Baltimore has "oversized infrastructure for its needs today," and points out:
Roads that have excess capacity are conducive to speeding.
The plan also seeks to improve traffic-signal timing, work with the community to reduce speeding, and review the design of high-crash intersections and corridors.
For the complete Strategic Highway Safety Plan, click here.
