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Why Vision Zero?

  • The Orange-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area continues to rank as one of the deadliest areas, and the average yearly deaths continue to rise. (Dangerous by Design, 2022)
  • In 2022 there were 209 fatalities and 1,208 severe injuries on Orange County's roadways. (Signal 4 Analytics)
  • Vision Zero seeks to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries on the transportation system by providing a proactive and preventive approach.
  • Vision Zero believes loss of life is not an acceptable price to pay for mobility.
  • The goal of Vision Zero is to integrate safety principles during the planning and implementation of transportation programs Countywide.

Vision Zero Orange County

On August 9, 2022, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) took a significant step by passing a resolution to develop a Vision Zero Action Plan - a comprehensive initiative aimed at enhancing transportation safety in Orange County.

The Orange County Vision Zero Action Plan is part of a regional effort by Metro Plan to reduce traffic fatalities and severe injuries, creating safer roads for both the 2.2 million residents and 75 million tourists who visit Central Florida annually. Coordinated Vision Zero Action Plans will be created for cities and counties throughout the region made possible by a $3.8 million federal Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grant.

Vision Zero Orange County has developed a comprehensive Vision Zero Safety Action Plan for Orange County. This document is subject to approval by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) on August 27, 2024. You can view the proposed Vision Zero Action Plan here:

Orange County Vision Zero Action Plan

Community Meeting Schedule

Date & Time Event Location
January 18, 2024
6:30 p.m.
District 1 Community Meeting Rosen Jewish Community Center
1184 S. Apopka Vineland Rd.,
Orlando, FL 32836
January 25, 2024
6:30 p.m.
District 2 Community Meeting John Bridges Community Center
445 W. 13th St.,
Apopka, FL 32703
February 1, 2024
6:30 p.m.
District 4 Community Meeting Meadow Woods Recreation Center
1725 Rhode Island Woods Cir.,
Orlando, FL 32824
February 22, 2024
6:30 p.m.
District 6 Community Meeting Orange County Multicultural Center
7149 W. Colonial Dr.,
Orlando, FL 32818
February 27, 2024
6:30 p.m.
District 3 Community Meeting Episcopal Church of Jesus of Nazareth
26 Willow Dr.,
Orlando, FL 32807
February 29, 2024
6:30 p.m.
District 5 Community Meeting Orlando Magic Recreation Center
4863 N. Goldenrod Rd.,
Winter Park, FL 32792

Crash Trends

Fatal crashes are occurring throughout the region, not just in concentrated locations. Explore crashes near you in our interactive crash data dashboard.

Who is impacted the most?

A key aspect of the safe systems approach is focused on equity. The goals of Vision Zero cannot be achieved without recognizing the need to address systems that result in disproportionate safety risks for some, particularly low-income and vulnerable communities.

Why? Many disadvantaged communities have historically been more impacted by higher speed roads because of:

  • High density residential development next to high-speed roads, not connected to adjacent land uses, forcing activity to the busy road
  • More people reliant on walking, biking, and riding public transportation to get around
  • Lack of infrastructure to support walking, biking and public transportation (ex: sidewalk gaps and crossings spaced too far apart)

Traditional transportation planning and policy work tends to focus on individual behavior-related strategies, rather than addressing the policies and choices that created and sustain unsafe built environments. This plan and future efforts have the responsibility to recognize and address equity disparities systematically.

Taking Action with Vision Zero Orange County

Our Vision Zero Brand

Vision Zero Countdown to Zero logo

The vision zero brand helps to generate visibility and familiarity in an effort to achieve campaign participation community wide. The Orange County brand evokes the image of the roadside memorial, an all too familiar reminder of the personal impact roadway crashes can have on individuals and communities. This brand underlines the importance of joining the vision zero effort, reminding us of the cost of inaction because even one death is too many. To this end, the goal of the Orange County Vision Zero Action Plan is to reduce the number of fatalities and severe injuries on the transportation system to zero by 2040.

Safe Systems Approach

Eliminating deaths on our transportation system requires an ambitious, proactive method called the safe system approach, which includes working on safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds, addressing needs of all travelers, and strengthening post-crash care. All these elements work together to build layers of protection into the transportation system.

Safe Systems Approach logo

Vision Zero Action Plan

Vision Zero Orange County will create a comprehensive Vision Zero Safety Action Plan for Orange County, as well as additional action plans tailored for each city.
A Vision Zero Action Plan includes:

  • High Injury Network: Analyzing data to identify places on the transportation system with the highest risk for fatal and serious injury crashes so that we can focus on our most important problem areas.
  • Equity Component: Identifying and prioritizing efforts in disadvantaged communities that are disproportionately affected by traffic crashes.
  • List of Priority Streets and Intersections: Producing a list of feasible projects that have the most safety impact for the region.
  • Educational and Enforcement Programs: Identifying key behavioral changes needed to reduce crashes and methods for encouraging those changes.
  • Sustained Effort: Establishing a defined process and identifying an organization responsible for carrying out, updating, and monitoring progress.

Dashboard

The crash data dashboard provides a comprehensive view of crash data including type, severity, manner of collision, and overall injury and fatality trends for the given period. The Orange County dashboard is provided through MetroPlan's regional dashboard which relies on the Signal Four Analytics database maintained by the University of Florida's GeoPlan Center. Further analysis conducted at the county level as part of the VZ Action Plan process is detailed below with links to some of the maps created as part of the plan.

Dash https://www.visionzerocfl.gov/pages/regional-vision-zero-data-dashboard

Crash data dashboard chart

Methodology

The data analysis approach involves identification of trends, locations and factors influencing severe injury and fatal roadway crashes. The safety analysis sets a foundation on which to identify cause and effect relationships, leading to the identification of future education, engineering, and enforcement needs Analysis outputs may describe trends or locations according to the following characteristics:

  • Crash severity and trends over time
  • Crash type (by roadway user, action/fault reported)
  • Person type (i.e., gender, race, age)
  • Crash factor (i.e., restraint use, alcohol/ drug use, speeding, etc.)
  • Temporal variations (time-of-day, day-of-week, month)
  • Roadway type (i.e., number of lanes, AADT, local/FDOT ownership)
  • Roadway characteristics (i.e. at intersection, signal, crosswalk, posted speed)
  • Maps: Network screening (based on crash frequency) and historic crash hot spots
  • Establish High Injury Network (HIN) (including corridors and intersections)

Project Schedule

The schedule below outlines the phases of Vision Zero Orange County, including the dates and action items associated with each phase. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please contact Orange County Public Works Department at 407-836-7891 or at humberto.castillero@ocfl.net.

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Orange County Vision Zero Steering Committee | October 2023 to March 2024 The Steering Committee Meeting phase will continue throughout creation of the Vision Zero Action Plan, beginning in October 2023 and continuing through March 2024. Steering Committee members will assist with strategy development for the remaining phases and will provide key input and advisement for the plan. The meeting efforts are listed below:

  • Project Kick-off Meeting
  • Meeting on Public Engagement Strategies
  • Meeting on High Injury Network and Collision Profiles
  • Meeting on Counter-measures Identification
  • Meeting on Project Priority List and Equity
  • Refinement of Draft VZ Action Plan prior to BCC Workshop
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Public Engagement and Agency Collaboration | October 2023 to February 2024 Public engagement will take place throughout the course of the study. The main objective of the outreach effort is to build awareness, gather information, and support the plan's success. The primary outreach efforts for are listed below:

  • Six Public Workshops - one per Commissioner District
  • Two Pop-up Events
    • Provide overview of the VZ project and summary of the baseline assessment
    • Participants will provide feedback on maps that reflect results of the transportation safety analysis
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Identification of High Injury Network and Collision Profiles | September 2023 to December 2023 The High Injury Network and Collision Profiles phase began in September 2023 and will continue through December 2023. The main objective of this phase is to identify roadways and intersections with the highest intensity of severe injuries and fatalities. The primary outcomes are listed below:

  • High Injury Network development
  • Identify crash hot spots
  • Create collision profiles
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Review of Local Policies, Benchmarks, Standard Operating Procedures | September 2023 to October 2023 The Policy Review phase began in September 2023 and will continue through October 2023. The main objective of this phase is to review existing best practices and previous studies to identify barriers and opportunities for achieving vision zero goals. The primary tasks are listed below:

  • Review of existing best practices guidelines and previous studies
  • Interviews with County staff
  • Review of Standard Operating Procedures to identify barriers and opportunities
  • Review of County Guidelines
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Identify and Prioritize Projects and Strategies | December 2023 to February 2024. The Prioritization phase will begin in December 2023 and will continue through February 2024. The main objective of this phase is to prioritize countermeasures and future work plan action items. The primary tasks are listed below:

  • Review of proven safety countermeasures
  • Evaluate safety at specific locations
  • Outline opportunities to update operational processes for a County VZ program that is integrated with existing County plans
  • Provide a framework to implement future actions aligned with the CIP process
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Draft and Final VZ Action Plan | March 2024 to May 2024 The final phase of the project will begin in March 2024 with submittal of the draft action plan and conclude in May 2024 with adoption of the final plan. This phase will also include presentation to the BCC.

Project Contacts

Orange County Consultant Team (VHB)
Humberto Castillero, P.E., PTOE, Manager
Orange County Public Works Department
Traffic Engineering Division
4200 S. John Young Parkway
Orlando, Florida 32839-9205
407-836-7891
Humberto.Castillero@ocfl.net
Roberta Fennessy, AIA, AICP
SE Region Planning & Design Service Lead, VHB
225 E. Robinson Street, Suite 300, Landmark Center Two
Orlando FL 32801-4326
407.459.4058
Rfennessy@vhb.com