Promoting Vision Zero: Case Study from Richmond, Virginia 

Background

The City of Richmond, the capital of Virginia, is among the oldest cities in the U.S. The City formed a Safe 

and Healthy Streets Commission in 1966 as one of earliest multidiscipline initiatives of its kind in the 

nation and helped lay the groundwork for their Vision Zero plans and program. 

Vision Zero Action Plan 

In 2016, under a newly elected Mayor, the City Council formally passed a resolution stating their goal of 

zero serious injuries and zero fatalities by 2030. That action helped 

Vision Zero gain traction throughout government offices, local 

organizations, and with the public. The City engaged a range of 

stakeholders, including local staff, school board members, and 

advocacy groups, in the development of the City’s Vision Zero 

Action Plan as well as in the kick-off event intended to unite the 

community around the shared goal of zero serious injuries and Figure 1: Richmond, Virginia's Vision Zero 

fatalities. The logo shown in Figure 1 helped create consistent logo. Logo Source- City of Richmond 

messaging around Vision Zero. Richmond’s Vision Zero activities 

received the Governor’s Transportation Safety Award for its Action Plan and the 2018 ITE Public Agency 

Award for its public engagement, elevating the status of Vision Zero within its local agencies and 

supporting organizations. 

Safety Commitment and Call for Actions

Richmond built its Vision Zero Action Plan upon the Safe and Healthy Streets Commission already in 

place and drew from the stakeholder group identified under the commission. Following the Mayor’s 

public commitment to the goal of zero serious injuries and fatalities, the Commission was charged with 

developing and monitoring the Action Plan 

through a diverse group of stakeholders, 

which the Commission successfully 

developed in four months. The 

Commission worked to engage diverse 

stakeholders, including transportation 

safety experts from the Public Works, 

Planning, and Public Health Departments; 

representatives from the City Police; 

School Board members; and others. 

Figure 2: City of

Richmond's Vision

Zero kick-off event,

Pictured: Mayor

Levar M. Stoney.

Photo Source- City

of Richmond

In October 2017, the City of Richmond 

and the Office of the Mayor hosted a 

successful kick-off event which brought

together local officials, stakeholders, nonprofit organizations, the public, and both 

State and Federal representatives. The

event, shown in Figure 2, communicated 
the City’s mission and goals of Vision Zero and secured leadership and the public commitment to Vision

Zero. Stakeholders in attendance signed a Vision Zero pledge to commit to each other to eliminate

traffic related injuries and fatalities. The Mayor also issued a Safe and Healthy Streets Challenge to the

public. Five common actions were identified based on the most common causes of traffic-related deaths

and serious injuries. The challenge used positive language to encourage everyone to participate to 

create safer streets for all: “Share the road, Obey speed limits, Buckle in, Avoid distractions, Drive sober.

If we do not, it would be SO BAD.” The community could learn more about the challenge through

various press releases as well as the City’s website.

Safety Culture Building through Partnerships and Messaging 

Strong partnerships among various entities helped Richmond integrate a culture of safety and Vision

Zero practices across different department’s missions, increasing the overall safety of Richmond’s roads

and people. To start building and leveraging those partnerships, the Department of Public Works

reached out to all departmental leaders to emphasize how Vision Zero fit into each department’s goals. 

For example, a department could include tailored leadership talking points that linked Vision Zero

directly to its work. The cross departmental conversations increased the status of Vision Zero

throughout the City’s offices. One specific partnership that proved beneficial was between the

Department of Public Works and the Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs within the Health Department; the

latter provided advice on appropriate outreach and inclusion of non- and limited-English speaking

community members.

The City partnered with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to develop a required online

transportation safety course for all freshman; the VCU cohort selected this project due to high incidents

of pedestrian crashes – from 2015-2018, there were 84 pedestrian crashes resulting in one fatality. The

course aimed to raise awareness and educate students on roadway safety with the goal of reducing

serious injuries and fatalities on campus. Additionally, the City partnered with the Brandcenter at VCU

to create a graduate-level project where students developed advertising strategies and messages for

agency use in promoting Vision Zero. Students developed a song and a ghost story for use in video or

radio advertisements. 

Richmond currently deploys targeted outreach strategies based on the audience. For example, every

month, the Department of Public Works, in partnership with the Department of Public Health, develops 

short, people-centered talking points that link

to national safety campaigns. People-centered

language, shown in Figure 3, is used to 

emphasize the person rather than the mode of

transportation such as “people who walk” or

“people who ride motorcycles.” While those

messages are initially intended for leadership,

they are publicly available for media, schools,

or non-governmental organizations to use.

The Vision Zero team collaborates with Public

Information Officers to generate consistent

language and data interpretation surrounding

Vision Zero across government departments,

media, and the public. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Figure 3: Richmond's quarterly talking points for leadership and

the public. Source- rva.gov/public-works/vision-zero
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richmond also developed a public facing Vision Zero dashboard to share with partners and the

public progress towards the Vision Zero goal. The Dashboard, below in Figure 4, includes traffic

safety data from 2015 to 2023, allowing the community to see what is happening on the City’s

roads. The information helps drive conversations surrounding safety, implementation activities,

and needs.

Figure 4: Richmond's Vision Zero data dashboard. Source- rva.gov/public-works/vision-zero

Community Engagement

The City continues to engage the community when identifying new projects that align with Vision Zero.

For example, at town hall meetings, the Department of Public Works shares conceptual designs and

seeks community member’s reactions. The Department repeats this process for detailed design after

incorporating those changes. The City also increased engagement through strong partnerships with

various local organizations. Those partners, including schools, places of worship, and community

centers, help reach a large and diverse population within the City.

Richmond employed a variety of tactics to engage with traditionally disenfranchised populations during

the Path to Equity (PTE) and the on-going Richmond Connects planning processes. These tactics

consisted of pop-up events, canvassing, the use of compensated ambassadors, web blasts, and

appearances at community events. Following best practices, ambassadors were fairly compensated for

their time, whether that was attending Advisory Committee meetings or helping with community

outreach events. The team also worked hard to ensure all online surveys could also be accessed via a

paper form to improve accessibility.

For the PTE plan, the team organized three pop-up events. These pop-ups, dubbed “Tacos for

Transportation”, brought a food truck to communities, and fostered a relaxed and fun environment to

engage meaningfully about transportation with the community and build trust. City staff joined the

Whitcomb community, an underserved community, at their “Back to School Summer Jam” and their

National Night Out event to increase awareness and excitement for Path to Equity. The Department

conducted PTE outreach using ad time on two Radio One stations and Ultra Radio– a Spanish-language

station –, posted to social media, and deployed surveys at several transit stops to gain additional input

from the community.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The on-going Richmond Connects outreach process has included continued participation in 

community-based events such as the National Night Out, Que Pasa Festival, Jubilation in June, and 

other smaller community events. Current outreach included mobile materials that are geo-specific to

the identified communities of concern; these materials will be shared at community locations to target

people where they already go, such as grocery stores, bus stops, and community centers. A

community outreach specialist was hired to assist with completing this in-depth public engagement.

Key Takeaways

 Build strong partnerships with both local government organizations and key community 

stakeholders. Share how Vision Zero supports their missions and identify ways to collaborate to 

achieve the shared goal of zero traffic related injuries and fatalities.

 Target messaging to reach the intended audience. Take time to understand what messaging will 

engage and compel each audience.

 Use people-centered messaging to communicate with the public.

Contact

Michael B. Sawyer, PE

City Transportation Engineer

Michael.Sawyer@rva.gov

https://www.rva.gov/public-works/vision-zero