Indianapolis City-County Council introduces proposal to eliminate fatal car crashes

After years of consideration, the Indianapolis City-County Council introduced a proposal Monday committing to eliminating all fatal and serious car crashes by 2035.

The plan aligns with Vision Zero, the international street safety concept that aims to prevent all pedestrian deaths from car crashes.

"The introduction of Vision Zero represents a significant step towards making our streets safer for everyone," councilor and sponsor Andy Nielsen said in a news release. "Traffic fatalities and serious injuries are not just accidents; they are preventable tragedies. We owe it to our community to take action."

The proposal establishes a Vision Zero task force charged with developing and setting up an action plan by July 1, 2025. The 15-person task force will include council members and community representatives and must meet at least twice a year. 

The action plan will follow the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe System Approach, which tries to mitigate driver error and emphasize proactive safety measures.

Vision Zero has been discussed in Indianapolis since 2016, when it was mentioned in a countywide Pedestrian Safety Plan developed by the city of Indianapolis. The city has never tried to implement Vision Zero. 

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This proposal doesn’t include dedicated funding; it’s a policy, not a fiscal proposal, councilor and sponsor John Barth said. However, funding for the initial year will come from an undisclosed increase in budget allocations, and more funding will follow after the task force creates a plan. 

Many similar-sized cities have taken on Vision Zero plans. For example, Columbus, Ohio has lowered speed limits, installed crosswalks and removed obstructions near intersections.

However, not everyone is satisfied with the city’s proposal.

Eric Holt runs Indy Pedestrian Safety Crisis, a website and social media account following crashes between cars and pedestrians or cyclists. He’s happy Indianapolis is taking this first step, but he’s worried about how long it will take. Between the action plan and the budget, he doesn’t expect to see improvements until 2026.

The city has historically been constrained by the state’s road funding formula, which allocates funds based on road mileage, meaning a mile of one-lane road used once a day equals the same dollar amount as a highway hit by rush hour twice a day.

However, there may be solutions that don't rely on this funding formula. Holt points to cities like Cincinnati and Milwaukee, which have implemented low-cost “traffic-calming” solutions, such as speed humps or speed feedback signs. 

The Indianapolis Department of Public Works announced June 26 they’re investing in "tactical urbanism," which includes many of those smaller traffic-calming measures. The department is also spending unused funding, originally allocated for salting roads, on making pedestrian intersections in school zones safer.

Still, Holt sees potential cause for concern, particularly because traffic-calming projects have historically been citizen-driven, which means some areas can't afford them. The city needs to lead the way, he said.

“One counselor said ‘well, we're not going to solve this overnight’,” Holt said. “And that's true, but we could certainly be more aggressive than we're being today.”

Contact IndyStar politics Pulliam fellow Nadia Scharf at nscharf@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @nadiaascharf.