Just six short months ago the City of West Palm Beach adopted Vision Zero West Palm Beach, a road safety initiative that has proven to save lives in municipalities around the world. With the goal of reducing and ultimately eliminating fatalities and serious injuries on city roads, the City’s Vision Zero safety team-along with its partners-will host the Vision Zero Community Safety Fair on Saturday, February 9 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. The interactive workshop will take place along Flagler Drive – north and south traffic lanes will be closed to vehicle traffic from Fern St. to Banyan Blvd. – and include free helmet fittings and helmet giveaways (while supplies last), a bicycle rodeo, driver safety tips, a rollover crash demonstration, a West Palm Beach Fire Rescue truck for exploration, and more. The event is FREE, open to the public, and people of all ages are encouraged to attend.
A Vision Zero approach involves a wide variety of methodologies to reduce the troubling traffic fatalities and serious injuries produced on roads daily. The method has been adopted in 34 cities in the United States, with many more abroad. Locally, Vision Zero West Palm Beach is a collaborative effort between internal and external community stakeholders. The City of West Palm Beach acts as connector to resources and experts, advancing a shared goal to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries on the streets of West Palm Beach. The City looks to achieve its goal through the “three Es” – engineering, whereby the City commits to design better streets; education, including public fairs and targeted outreach programs; and enforcement, which includes enforcement of traffic laws and review of policy changes.
Vision Zero Community Safety Fair activities include a bicycle rodeo presented by the Florida Department of Transportation with assistance from Ask Learn Go, which specializes in children’s bicycle safety; helmet fittings and giveaways (while supplies last) by the Florida Department of Transportation; a rollover simulator vehicle and demonstration on what happens when someone is not buckled in during a crash by the Florida Highway Patrol; a driving simulator for young drivers, courtesy of A Treasure Coast Driving School and AAA; driver education materials, sectioned by driver type – such as car, motorcycle and older drivers – and giveaways from the Safety Council of Palm Beach County; safety tips and a vehicle on display from the West Palm Beach Police Department; a fire engine for exploration courtesy of the West Palm Beach Fire Rescue; and interactive displays from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, including its vehicle homicide truck, fatal vision goggles and safety displays.