Vision Zero Crash Map
Visualizing vulnerable road user fatalities in Massachusetts
Massachusetts VisionZero Coalition map
There are many ways to visualize traffic fatalities. A carnation for each fatality laid on the steps on Boston City Hall is one visualization. An interactive map locating each fatality across the Commonwealth is another.
The Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition tracks pedestrian and bicyclist roadway fatalities as part of their advocacy. Based on media accounts, this dataset has outgrown the mapping software used to visualize fatality locations. As part of a Webmapping course at Clark University, students built a new mapping tool designed specifically for the Vision Zero Coalition's data.
What is Vision Zero?
Roadway design has been car centric for over a century, leading to transportation system that can be hostile to anyone outside a car.
The Vision Zero movement seeks to re-design roadways to be safe and comfortable for all users. These new design standards prioritize the safety of all users as opposed to accommodating the greatest volume of motorists. Vision Zero was conceived and signed into law in Sweden in 1997. In 2019, Oslo Norway was the first major city to achieve zero traffic fatalities for vulnerable roadway users. Vulnerable roadway users are primarily pedestrians and bicyclists, but also include wheelchair users and those using micro mobility.
The Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition advocates for Vision Zero design standards on Beacon Hill and in the Commonwealth’s 351 municipalities. When roadways are safe and comfortable for all users, many people choose not to travel by car. This is particularly true for the 57% of trips taken in Massachusetts that are less than three miles. Reducing the number of trips taken by car decreases pollution which causes climate change and impacts the health of those living near roadways. Transportation is the Massachusetts sector which creates the majority of green house gases emitted in the Commonwealth.
Click on pedestrian/bicycle icons for more information, or use the menu at right to select specific years or locations (note: Zoom to Location does not work in an embedded map).
The new map tool was developed in a collaborative effort between Zainab Farad , Kas Green and myself using GitHub and Leaflet. This visualization can accommodate the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition's full data set, includes tools to update the data set and allows users to explore the data by selecting specific years and locations.
