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R-25-04 A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING A VISION ZERO POLICY FOR THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA. WHEREAS, the life and health of all persons living and traveling within the city of Portsmouth are our utmost priority, and no one should die or be seriously injured while traveling on our city streets; WHEREAS, Vision Zero is the concept that traffic deaths and serious injuries on our roadways are unacceptable; WHEREAS, Vision Zero is a holistic strategy aimed at eliminating all traffic fatalities and severe injuries suffered by all road users while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all; WHEREAS, streets and transportation systems have traditionally been designed primarily to move cars efficiently, and Vision Zero supports a paradigm shift by designing streets and transportation systems to move all people safely, including people of all ages and abilities, pedestrians, bicyclists, public transit users, scooter riders, and motorcyclists, as well as drivers and passengers of motor vehicles; WHEREAS, Vision Zero recognizes that people will sometimes make mistakes, so the road system and related policies should be designed to ensure that those inevitable mistakes do not result in severe injuries or fatalities; therefore, transportation planners are expected to improve the roadway environment, policies, and other related systems to lessen the severity of crashes; WHEREAS, 32 people in Portsmouth lost their lives to traffic deaths between 2019 and 2023, and traffic crashes are among the leading cause of deaths in the United States; WHEREAS, according to the Safe Streets and Roads for All Action Plan, pedestrians and bicyclists are involved in 5 percent of collisions and account for 21 percent of deaths and serious injuries from traffic crashes in Portsmouth from 2019 through 2023; WHEREAS, the City of Portsmouth's transportation infrastructure serves an increasing number of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists; WHEREAS, speed is recognized as a major determining factor of survival in a crash; WHEREAS, the City of Portsmouth will work toward reducing vehicle speeds because the likelihood of a pedestrian surviving a crash is 10 percent if hit by a vehicle moving 40 mph;