Vision Zero for Youth Demonstration Project
Philadelphia, PA
Project Summary
Starting in 2019, Toole Design partnered with the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) to support the City of Philadelphia’s Vision Zero for Youth Demonstration Project. This two-year initiative aimed to integrate youth pedestrian safety needs into the City’s broader Vision Zero efforts, which strive to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.
As part of this demonstration project, we pilot tested systemic analysis and equity analysis of youth pedestrian crashes in the City of Philadelphia. The findings helped to identify potential factors contributing to these crashes, as well as proactively identify sites for potential safety improvements based on those factors.
The insights gained from this demonstration project informed the City’s Vision Zero Action Plan update in November 2020, which now includes a focus on youth safety. The strategies and tools developed through this project also serve as replicable models for other cities aiming to protect their youngest road users.
Separate from the demonstration project, Toole Design has generally supported PBIC’s Vision Zero for Youth Initiative. Building on the successful practices of Safe Routes to Schools programs, our team developed a variety of educational and technical resources. These included research and case studies; webinars; and tools and guides tailored to address youth travel issues. All are designed to help schools, cities, MPOs and states, transportation professionals, and community members to create safer environments for young pedestrians and cyclists.