Leveraging Strong Town’s Crash Analysis Studio for Vision Zero

We’re all invested in saving lives and already working hard to do so. So instead of simply trying to work harder, it’s time to work differently. While we’ve made progress, it’s clear that the traditional, reactive approach to traffic safety (remember “whack-a-mole” games?) is not enough. To achieve significant, lasting change, we need to shift to a more proactive, predictive approach — one that learns from past crashes and patterns and uses those lessons to make more forward-looking, systemic and meaningful change.

This is the central idea behind Strong Towns’ Crash Analysis Studio, which offers a framework to help communities move beyond assigning fault to individuals involved in crashes to, instead, investigating why these crashes occur, then recognizing and addressing patterns, and focusing on systemic improvements, particularly related to how streets are designed and how they operate. 

In January, Vision Zero Network collaborated with Strong Towns to host a webinar to discuss learnings from their Crash Analysis Studio model — also compiled in their report, Beyond Blame: How Cities Can Learn From Crashes to Create Safer Streets Today. 

The report highlights lessons learned in 18 cities that participated in the Studio, revealing consistent contributing factors and systemic-level opportunities to integrate and scale safety centered infrastructure. 

For example, in Hyattsville, Maryland, the Studio process identified lighting issues that were addressed by installing shorter, pedestrian-scale lights—an improvement not only for the specific crossing being studied but as a model for enhancing pedestrian visibility across the city. In Richmond, Virginia, the Studio process led to changes that slowed traffic and narrowed a high-speed roadway near a college campus after a fatal crash that killed a student while crossing the street, underscoring the broader need for better street design in other areas where there are high concentrations of people walking and biking. Similarly, in Rochester, New York, speed limits were reduced, and quick-build designs narrowed roads and intersections following a fatal crash at a marked crosswalk, highlighting the importance of systemic and layered traffic calming interventions to protect vulnerable road users. These examples demonstrate how communities can leverage targeted responses to specific crashes as a catalyst for broader, lasting improvements to their overall communities.

Following are Vision Zero Network’s top takeaways from the discussion with Strong Towns and ways communities can move from overemphasizing individual-focused interventions to rolling out more systemic, upstream safety strategies:

1 - Empower Vision Zero Leadership

Many Vision Zero program managers may not have regular, direct access to top city officials nor the authority to influence their local safety policies. Instead, many Vision Zero coordinators operate several tiers below key decision-makers, limiting their ability to make the case for, or directly enact, systemic changes. 

For example, a 2024 audit of Charlotte, North Carolina’s Vision Zero program showed that the City had spent about $17 million on Vision Zero efforts since adopting it in 2019. Despite these investments, Charlotte still experienced an increase in traffic deaths, raising critical questions about what could be improved. What they found was that clear ownership of actions outlined in their Vision Zero Action Plan had not been established and stated goal owners were not held accountable for meeting performance targets. The audit also revealed that their Vision Zero Coordinator was operating 3-4 tiers down within city management with limited power to make systematic changes and to hold staff accountable, as needed.

If we want to see better results for Vision Zero it's going to take more than just a commitment with words and plans – it’s going to take real change in policies and practices, and institutionalizing these changes. This includes restructuring lead agencies’ teams to make sure safety work is prioritized and embedded everywhere in decision making; examples include:

• Having Vision Zero coordinators report directly to the local leaders, such as the mayor, city manager, transportation department director and other top decision-makers. This direct line of communication ensures that safety becomes a core organizational responsibility and not just one of many competing priorities.
• Giving Vision Zero coordinators the authority to veto dangerous street designs, request rapid changes and shape policy decisions. Rather than being one voice among many, Vision Zero leaders need to be recognized as a primary authority on safety matters.
• Enabling quick, impactful changes, including via crash response teams to allow action quickly following a serious crash. In addition to taking time to assess the root causes of a crash and propose holistic, long-term safety improvements, these teams should also have the ability to implement immediate, impactful fixes without being delayed by lengthy review or planning processes. For example, if many drivers are making turns too fast at a dangerous intersection, the team could quickly tighten the turning radius using quick-build features, such as painting a temporary "bulb-out" and placing planters. These interim changes can immediately help reduce risk while more permanent solutions are developed.  (Read more about Strong Towns’ recommendations on Crash Response teams).

2 - Focus on what you can control

State-owned routes often present unique challenges for cities striving to prioritize safety. Different safety standards and processes at the state level can make it harder for local jurisdictions to achieve Vision Zero. However, communities can make meaningful progress by focusing on what they can control — by taking action to make sure that their own streets are able to meet robust and comprehensive safety standards. 

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t push for much-needed improvements on state-owned roads but instead start where you can make an immediate impact, much like stretching before a run to ensure greater success. By improving safety locally, cities create a strong foundation of community support and local elected buy-in — both critical tools for advocating for alignment and accountability from state agencies. 

For example, Jersey City and Hoboken, New Jersey — both of which have made encouraging Vision Zero progress in the past few years — leveraged strong local safety standards to engage their state Department of Transportation and push for greater responsiveness and alignment with their local safety goals. While addressing the safety gaps on state-owned roads will require ongoing collaboration, cultivating strong support for these changes in your community builds momentum for broader improvements over time. For more insights on this issue, check out our blog on the problem of state-owned roads.

3 - Combine technical expertise and lived experience

The Crash Analysis Studio highlights the importance of leveraging both technical expertise and local insights to make our streets and communities safe. As Strong Towns Founder & President, Chuck Marohn explained, technical decisions, such as design speed, are often made in isolation by engineers, these decisions are actually values-based and should ultimately take into consideration the values and priorities of community members. For example, higher design speeds may improve traffic flow and meet technical engineering goals on a street that does not (yet) have high numbers of injury crashes, but those high speeds may also make people feel less safe and discourage people from walking and biking. These perceptions of unsafe conditions and the resulting limits on mobility options are important. Safe, effective mobility works means ensuring that people are safe and feel safe. 

By recognizing that community members are the neighborhood experts, jurisdictions can gain invaluable perspectives on how streets are used and experienced, and this should inform decisions. Decisions about critical factors — such as balancing active transportation accessibility with vehicle throughput — should be influenced by those overrepresented in deaths and severe injuries rather than being left solely to technical professionals. Jurisdictions should prioritize input from historically underserved and vulnerable groups to ensure that safety improvements are addressing systemic disparities and meeting the safety needs of those who need them the most.

Take Action for Change

Making a commitment to Vision Zero and embracing a Safe System approach entail more than just adopting slogans or even plans. This work will take real change – a paradigm shift – in how we think about and act for road safety. Though this work is ambitious and challenging, it is achievable, and we’re seeing progress across the nation. 

Strong Towns’ Crash Analysis Studio is a prime example of how communities can start small while laying the groundwork for scaling up progress and adapting better safety approaches going forward. Using a Crash Analysis framework as part of your Vision Zero work, you can better assess contributing crash factors, implement more immediate safety changes and also spur important, systemic, long-term improvements. 

It is possible to build a stronger foundation for safety policies and practices, which also includes updating and maintaining design standards that prioritize safety over speed and vehicle throughput, and also truly embedding safety as a core organizational value across agencies. While change won’t be quick or easy, it is possible. And with lives on the line every day, we must lean into change.

If you appreciate our work at Vision Zero Network – including learning opportunities like this most recent webinar and want to stay up to date, subscribe to our monthly e-News and follow Strong Towns work for more tools to support your efforts in advancing safe and equitable transportation systems.