2018 GDOT Annual Report

D I R E C T O R ’ S C O R N E R

Introduction

Adam Fischer Director City of Greensboro Department of Transportation

In fscal year 2017-18, the Greensboro Department of Transportation continued to develop and implement transportation improvements to enhance safety and mobility for all modes of travel that will be sustained well into the future. For the third consecutive year Greensboro was rated No. 1 in the United States for best places to drive by Waze. WalletHub ranked Greensboro as the least congested city of the 100 largest US cities. Greensboro also has the second lowest parking rates in the WalletHub survey. However, 2017 saw a sharp increase in fatal crashes. Forty-two people were killed in motor vehicle fatalities and there were 63 serious injuries – an all-time high. In order to address this unfortunate trend, Greensboro is developing a Vision Zero initiative in conjunction with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and other community partners. The Greensboro City Council passed a resolution in February establishing Greensboro as a Vision Zero community, making trafc safety a top priority. Later this year the City will set goals and develop an action plan with the ultimate vision of zero fatalities in the future. Drastic changes in driver behavior will need to take place in order to move the needle towards zero. Frequent contributing factors in fatal crashes are vehicles operating at unsafe speeds, not wearing seatbelts, driver inattention, and impaired driving. Communities in Sweden and Australia with long-standing Vision Zero programs have implemented strict zero tolerance speeding, anti-texting, and impaired driving enforcement measures which have

resulted in a signifcant reduction in severe trafc crashes. Are we ready to make trafc safety a top priority with similar zero tolerance measures to reduce crashes? Or are 42 fatalities in Greensboro, 1,387 fatalities in North Carolina, and 37,461 fatalities nationwide each year an acceptable number? Over the past year the Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA) conducted numerous public meetings and developed a comprehensive, long-range public transportation plan called “Get on Board 2040.” A draft plan was presented to the GTA Board in June and fnal adoption is anticipated later this year. Get on Board 2040 near-term improvements will bring efciencies and faster service to our existing fxed routes and long-range plans will ultimately include new cross-town connectors, routes, and transit hubs, and increased frequencies. Over the past six months, GDOT and Downtown Greensboro Incorporated held public meetings and targeted stakeholder input sessions on a comprehensive downtown streetscape plan. Downtown streetscapes will be phased in over

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