The City of Boulder is dedicated to creating and maintaining a safe transportation system and has been reporting on Vision Zero since 2009, and while the number of overall crashes has decreased, serious injury and fatal crashes are still occurring. Between 2009 and 2020, 636 people have been seriously injured or killed. These traffic injuries and deaths are at odds with Boulder’s core community values to ensure travel safety for people using all modes, as defined in the City Transportation Plan. The majority (67%) of severe crashes between 2018 and 2020 occurred on principal arterial (41% ) and minor arterial (26%) roadways, despite these street functional classifications accounting for about 17% of total centerline miles within the city. Safety concerns such as drivers speeding, impaired or distracted road users, and conflicts among vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists challenge our national reputation as a walkable, bikeable, and livable city. Vision Zero is Boulder’s bold goal to eliminate all severe crashes involving people using all modes of travel. Boulder defines severe crashes as those that result in a serious injury or fatality.
In response to deliver on the goal of Vision Zero, the city's is focused on implementing the Core Arterial Network (CAN), an initiative that aims to make traveling along the city’s main corridors safer, more comfortable and more connected. There are a number of ways this is being accomplished, including reconstructing intersections to provide greater protection for bicyclists and pedestrians, implementing traffic signal protections and adding enhanced pavement markings and signage to high crash corridors. This presentation will focus on the challenges and successes thus far in implementing Vision Zero focused transportation infrastructure in Boulder.