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Above are some of the key learnings from our public engagement This approach required a crucial change in the conversation of how traffic, safety, and behaviours are considered. The purpose was to help Edmontonians, city planners, engineers, decision makers and leaders see the true value of collaboratively investing in a safe mobility system. The Safe Mobility Strategy changed the conversation in two critical ways. First, the Strategy explicitly ties traffic safety to the vision and goals of the City of Edmonton. This is done to reflect that issues affecting transportation safety are interdependent with broader policy areas and community/societal goals such as land use, climate resilience, and health, along with core transportation policies such as promoting transit and active transportation. Next, it integrates the principles of equity and empathy in its development, while building upon the traditional disciplines of engineering, education, enforcement, engagement, and evaluation. Going beyond the traditional pillars of safety facilitates the decisions necessary to achieve a more livable and equitable Edmonton where everyone can move safely. These decisions will influence how the mobility system is planned, designed, built, activated, and maintained.
Connecting the numbers to people’s experiences Learning from data was the first step in developing the Strategy and was helpful in identifying the situations that most frequently lead to fatalities and serious injuries in Edmonton. While trends in crash numbers can provide important information, crash data only tells part of the story. The crash numbers can’t tell us where there are frequent near-crashes or about locations where people don’t feel safe travelling. Engaging with Edmontonians provided significant insight into people’s lived experiences which helped provide a complete picture of traffic safety. Through this engagement, it was clear that Edmontonians’ feeling of safety varies depending on who they are and how they travel. This insight has further strengthened our approach to incorporating the learnings from lived experience into our current and future work.
Considering a culture of traffic safety The Strategy places importance on creating a culture that values traffic safety at every step, including how Edmonton’s streets are planned, designed, built, activated, and maintained. Continued on page 27... SPRING 2021 | TRANSPORTATION TALK
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