The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced the Fiscal Year 2018 Vision Zero Grant winners. Vision Zero is Mayor Muriel Bowser’s initiative, which aims to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries from DC streets by 2024.
The annual grant funding is available to local nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organizations and District government agencies to pilot new safety programs focused on critical Vision Zero strategies.
“DDOT is bringing in support from all sectors in pursuit of the District’s Vision Zero goal,” said DDOT acting Director Jeff Marootian. “As DDOT takes the lead in designing and operating a safe system of streets, our grant program expands the reach of community and government stakeholders who can enhance our efforts in education, data analysis, and enforcement.”
The six new programs will be included in the current round of grant funding, which will target various strategies in the Vision Zero Action Plan. One of the six is our very own Southwest Business Improvement District (SWBID). SWBID was awarded $60,000.
SWBID will pilot and measure the effectiveness of placemaking and safety interventions in a rapidly growing DC neighborhood. Focusing on a mix of placemaking and public art treatments for traffic calming and pedestrian wayfinding, SWBID will quickly pilot new countermeasures to be sited at locations that are emerging as conflict points as commercial development intensifies. SWBID will conduct a thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of each intervention.
This is the third consecutive fiscal year that the District has reserved a portion of revenue generated from automated traffic enforcement to pilot innovative transportation safety projects.