Seattle invests $8.3 million in program to end traffic deaths, serious injuries by 2030

SEATTLE — For National Walk and Roll to School Day, students at Dunlap Elementary School were joined by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones and Seattle Department of Transportation Director Greg Spotts as they walked to school.

The National Center for Safe Routes to School presented Seattle with the 2022 U.S. Vision Zero for Youth Leadership Award.

The city’s Vision Zero program aims to end traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets in Seattle by 2030.

“In the budget we proposed $8.3 million in projects to make it safer to walk, and to roll, and to bike to school,” said Harrell.

Since 2019, SDOT has added leading pedestrian intervals, which give pedestrians a three-to-seven second head start at intersections, to nearly half of the city’s traffic signals.

SDOT reported there has been a 50% reduction in pedestrian turning collisions and 35% reduction in serious and fatal collisions at intersections where the intervals were added.

“It’s all about safety, we will lead with safety, we will lead with people, and so we don’t want anyone walking or jogging or riding a bike, or even driving a car in a transit accident, we want to avoid it,” said Harrell.

Around the school, several streets are under construction for a Safe Routes to School project.

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