U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Cambridge Releases Vision Zero Action Plan to Eliminate Transportation Fatalities and Serious Injuries

caution sign The information on this page may be outdated as it was published 6 years ago.

City Officials Release Vision Zero Action Plan
The City of Cambridge is releasing its Vision Zero Action Plan at a public celebration at City Hall on Thursday, Febuary 8, at 8:30 a.m. Vision Zero, adopted by the Cambridge City Council in 2016, is an initiative to reduce and ultimately eliminate transportation fatalities and serious injuries, while at the same time creating safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all those who travel in Cambridge. The Action Plan serves as a blueprint for how Cambridge will achieve Vision Zero.

The Action Plan outlines specific short and long term goals that the City will undertake. These goals reflect the City’s commitment to:
  • Design and Operate Safe Streets
  • Improve Large Vehicle, Taxi/For-Hire Vehicles, and TNC Safety for all road users
  • Ensure equity in Vision Zero efforts, paying particular attention to vulnerable and underserved populations
  • Engage the public in Vision Zero initiatives
  • Ensure that City employees and representatives lead by example in traffic safety matters
  • Create new partnerships and foster existing partnerships with community organizations
  • Use data to direct efforts and measure progress
In line with these goals, the City will be announcing the implementation of 20 MPH Safety Zones in the City Squares. Effective March 1, the speed limit in Central, Harvard, Inman, Kendall, and Porter Squares will be 20 MPH. Lowering speeds is one of the most effective tools to protect vulnerable road users and is fundamental to achieving Vision Zero, as slower speeds result in fewer and less severe crashes. In December of 2016, the City lowered the default speed limit to 25 MPH.
“Effective communication, collaboration, and public process are critical to successful initiatives, and these will be central themes that will guide our approach for Vision Zero,” said City Manager Louis A. DePasquale. “By coming together as a community, we will continue making it safe and easy for people of all ages and abilities to travel between work, school, shops, and other destinations, whether they choose to walk, bicycle, drive, or take transit. I look forward to working with the City Council and the entire community to enhance the safety of our city.”

“We know that lower speeds help save lives, and that pedestrians and cyclists are much more likely to survive a crash with a motor vehicle when speeds are below 20 MPH.” said Joseph Barr, Director of Traffic, Parking, and Transportation. “Cambridge’s squares are the heart of our city, and we want to make sure that we support their economic vitality by making them safe for everyone who lives, works, and plays in Cambridge.”

The foundation for the Action Plan is data driven decision-making. The City will seek to identify the fundamental causes of traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities to come up with creative and implementable solutions to prevent those incidents, and to evaluate its successes and remaining challenges. The Vision Zero commitment reinforces a community-based focus on safety and the actions that can be collectively taken to create the safest possible transportation system—and the safest possible city.

Preliminary 2017 crash data from the Cambridge Police Department shows:
  • 3% reduction in crash calls for service – to the lowest level in nearly two decades.
  • 4% reduction in crashes requiring police reports.
  • 17% reduction in crashes involving bicyclists.
  • 17% reduction in crashes resulting in ambulance transport of injured parties to a hospital – to the lowest since 2005, when comprehensive EMS disposition data was captured.
For additional information, visit CambridgeMA.GOV/VisionZero.


Page was posted on 2/8/2018 12:28 PM
Page was last modified on 7/24/2023 9:55 PM
Contact Us

How can we help?

Please provide as much detail below as possible so City staff can respond to your inquiry:

As a governmental entity, the Massachusetts Public Records Law applies to records made or received by the City. Any information received through use of this site is subject to the same provisions as information provided on paper.

Read our complete privacy statement


Service Requests

Enter a service request via SeeClickFix for things like missed trash pickups, potholes, etc., click here