Wilmington is working toward zero deaths or serious injuries on its roads by 2036 with a pledge to Vision Zero. The program, introduced in Sweden in 1997, aimed to reduce pedestrian and bicyclist deaths to zero by prioritizing human life and health over speed when designing roads. When Norway adopted the program several years later, they sought to accomplish safer roads by reducing city traffic, building paths for pedestrians and bicyclists that were separated from roads, and designing safer crossings while eliminating dangerous ones.
The Vision Zero approach is based on the idea that traffic crashes aren’t accidents, but predictable and preventable incidents.
Two major cities have had success with this program: Helsinki, Finland, and Hoboken, NJ. Hoboken accomplished its zero-death goal, in part, by implementing a city-wide speed limit of 20 mph on all city and county roads. They also moved parking spots further from intersections to allow more visibility, extended curbs, making crosswalks more visible, allowed pedestrians into the crosswalk 3-7 seconds before the traffic light changed to green, and designated bicycle lanes with extra space to separate bikes from cars. According to reports, Hoboken has not had a traffic death in nine years.
As a state, North Carolina signed on to Vision Zero in 2015. Since then, at least 14 municipalities have joined, including Charlotte, Durham, and Raleigh. In 2025, Wilmington took the Vision Zero pledge. Wilmington’s goal is to “eliminate all traffic deaths and severe injuries by 2036…prioritizing pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and other vulnerable users in planning and design.” The City’s goal is to “ensure that inevitable human mistakes do not result in severe injuries and fatalities.”
Andy Thompson, transportation division engineer and Vision Zero manager for Wilmington, said, “Wilmington’s Vision Zero program is still in its infancy. The City adopted its policy and 2036 goal, but the full Safety Action Plan, performance benchmarks, public dashboard, funding program, governance structure, and staffing are still being developed.”
The city plans to have a task force that includes city officials and key partners from NCDOT, UNCW, the New Hanover Community Endowment, and the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO), the regional planning agency that oversees transportation projects across all of New Hanover County and parts of Brunswick and Pender counties. The program is to be funded by DMV license fees and grants.
Thompson said, “Year-one work will focus on establishing program governance, a reliable data foundation, initial priorities, and public reporting. More specific interim goals and measures will be developed through the planning process.”
So far, the city has begun what its website refers to as “priority traffic calming projects,” installing speed humps in certain “key neighborhoods.” Although it isn’t clear why these neighborhoods were first, the website states that they are “working to reduce vehicle speeds, as pedestrians have a 95% chance of surviving when struck by a vehicle traveling 20 mph or slower.”
WMPO recently completed a series of community meetings and surveys and released their findings. Their online interactive map identified priority areas for safety in Wilmington.
“Market Street, College Road, Shipyard Boulevard, and Carolina Beach Road were the most frequently referenced corridors. Independence Boulevard, 3rd Street, and River Road (NC 133) also generated notable comment volume," WMPO noted.
Traffic decisions for these particular roads are either jointly handled by the city and state or totally under NCDOT control.
On Wilmington’s Vision Zero website, the city initially stated, “Since January 2025, 10 people have died in motor vehicle crashes in Wilmington, including seven pedestrians and one bicyclist.” But a quick online search showed at least three bicyclist deaths just in January of 2025. When Thompson was asked about this discrepancy and the source of the numbers, he responded, “This statement has been removed from the website until it can be updated. Traffic-safety data will continue to be reviewed and analyzed as the program develops. This ongoing analysis will help establish consistent baselines, identify trends, guide priorities, and inform future reporting.”
According to the NCDOT Statewide Crash Databoard, the City of Wilmington has had 1874 total crashes in 2026 so far, with 29 involving pedestrians and 23 involving bicyclists. There were 9 fatalities, including three pedestrians and one bicyclist. The Wilmington NCDOT data does not include Ogden, Kings Grant, Silver Lake, or Myrtle Grove.
Since the Vision Zero program has been around for almost thirty years, we can look at how successful it’s been in other places.
One of America’s first Vision Zero programs has struggled
There’s some debate over where Vision Zero really got started in the United States, but Chicago was an early adopter.
Washington State commissioned a 30-year ‘Target Zero’ plan in 2000, and Chicago launched a 10-year plan in 2012. The first cities to formally adopt a fully branded Vision Zero program, which involves multiple agencies including public health, law enforcement, and engineering and transit departments, were New York City and then San Francisco a month or so later.
In 2017, Chicago formally signed on to a Vision Zero program. However, the city failed to reach its goal of zero traffic deaths or serious injuries by this year, 2026.
According to a Chicago Sun article, “Almost a decade after the city set out to eliminate all traffic deaths by 2026, nearly as many people are dying on Chicago streets as they were when the ambitious goal was announced. The number of yearly injuries and crashes on the roads has actually increased in that time, despite the city’s efforts to upgrade dangerous intersections and install miles of bike lanes, among other safety measures.”
In a small win, the article noted, “In 2024, Chicago logged 109 deaths on the road — 38 pedestrians, two cyclists and 69 people in vehicles. Although that represents a drop from a spike in deaths during the pandemic, that’s only 18 fewer than in 2017, when the city’s Vision Zero plan was published.” This drop made 2024 their lowest death rate in nine years, but that’s 109 families now missing a loved one.
Michael Kent, Policy Director for Chicago's Department of Transportation, said, “Encouraging more people to walk, bike, and ride transit are key features of Vision Zero, and the benefits of safer streets extend to all road users, including those in cars.”
But, Kent said, “Criticisms of Vision Zero include that the goal of ending all traffic fatalities is overly ambitious and that some of the strategies are ineffective or, in the case of enforcement, needlessly punitive and disproportionately impacting communities of color.”
He added that although “bicycles, scooters, and other micromobility options continue growing in popularity … surging demand for food delivery and online shopping have made delivery vehicles an increased presence on our streets.”
In Chicago, these delivery trucks have become a hazard for pedestrians and cyclists, with more than half of Chicago pedestrians who are killed being hit by an SUV or larger vehicle,” according to the city’s website.
One such death was Kent’s colleague and friend, Riley O’Neil. For Kent, this death “highlights that, while we might have come a long way in creating safer streets, the work is far from over.” O’Neil was riding his bike on a Chicago neighborhood street. When someone suddenly opened their car door, he was forced “into the path of a semi truck, bringing renewed focus to the question of whether such large vehicles can or should operate side-by-side with people walking and biking in their neighborhoods.”
It remains to be seen whether or not Chicago will continue with the Vision Zero Program. The city’s 2025-2029 Capital Improvement Program showed major cuts to Vision Zero funding. According to an article in Block Club Chicago, funding “will decrease from about $40 million in 2026 to $19 million in 2028 to $6 million in 2029, as shown in the Capital Improvement Program.”
City officials contend this isn’t necessarily a sign that they’re axing the program, and say more funding could be added in the future, but critics have asked if this could spell an end to, or at least a significant divestment from, Vision Zero in Chicago.
Other concerns
Research looking at the effectiveness of Vision Zero analyzed 18 cities that adopted the program early on. A study of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities from 2007 to 2019 — covering the time periods before and after these cities took the pledge — showed only two cities significantly reduced total fatalities, and only one with pedestrians. The best outcomes were for cities that had high usage of “walking, biking, and transit mode share and those that focused on walking and biking.” With limited safe places to walk and bike in Wilmington, we don’t yet qualify as high usage in these areas.
New York City’s program concentrated on reducing speeds, which appears to have reduced collisions and injuries as a result. The study showed that “Automobile dependency [is] an important barrier to U.S. Vision Zero efforts.”
Another major concern in Wilmington is that some of its most dangerous streets, including College, Oleander, and Carolina Beach roads, are directed by the state rather than the city.
Chicago had a similar problem with roads controlled by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).
Kent said, “IDOT has jurisdiction over many streets in Chicago, primarily arterial streets and highways that carry greater amounts of car and truck traffic. Implementing projects on IDOT routes does come with additional coordination, but we have nonetheless designed and built successful projects on such streets. In 2023, CDOT and IDOT entered into a memorandum of understanding to streamline and accelerate the process of delivering scalable safety measures on local roads and state routes.”
Thompson said, “State-maintained roads require continued coordination with NCDOT and WMPO. Projects identified in the current framework are candidates for further review, coordination, and funding—not construction commitments.”
North Carolina did sign the Vision Zero pledge in 2015 under then-Governor Pat McCrory. The state’s goal was to reduce traffic deaths by 50% in fifteen years, from 1387 in 2015 to 694 by 2030. However, the program is not on track to hit that goal. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report, in 2024, North Carolina saw approximately 1659 traffic-related deaths, up roughly 6% from the previous year.
To combat some of the issues faced by the many cities that have failed to meet their Vision Zero goals, Thompson said, “Wilmington intends to emphasize sustained measurement, evaluation, and adjustment. The forthcoming framework will identify how progress will be assessed over time.” He added, “Vision Zero staff participate in the North Carolina Vision Zero Network, providing opportunities to coordinate with and learn from other programs across the state.”
Kent added, “Achieving the long-term goal of Vision Zero requires the ongoing collaboration of people in all corners of government — elected officials, transportation planners, and first-responders — as well as advocates, academics and educators, and the general public, everyone who uses our streets.”
When asked about funding for personnel to enforce policies and safety laws for Wilmington’s streets, Thompson responded, “The program will emphasize roadway and operational changes that tend to be self-enforcing by encouraging safer behavior through their design. This approach can provide lasting safety benefits without relying primarily on continual personnel-based enforcement.” With no enforcement, it remains to be seen how effective traffic changes will be.
Looking forward to Wilmington’s Vision Zero
The Vision Zero plan begins with pedestrians and cyclists, but Wilmington is notoriously dangerous for auto drivers, as well. Many drivers complain that long red-light wait times lead to people running lights and hitting other cars.
Thompson said, “The City recognizes the concerns about signal delays, driver behavior, and intersection safety but does not assume a relationship without supporting analysis. Once the City Vision Zero Safety Action Plan is developed, it will provide guidance for appropriate safety improvements.”
Kent said, “No two cities are the same, and what works in some cities, neighborhoods, or communities may not work in others. What cities are up against in achieving the goal of Vision Zero is also evolving, as streets in many places look, feel, and operate differently today than they did even a few years ago. The physical growth of trucks and SUVs, alongside the surge of interest in bikes, e-bikes, and scooters, and the decline of interest among younger people in cars all point to a different landscape for Vision Zero than what we faced a decade ago.”
For cities just starting out with Vision Zero, like Wilmington, Kent said, “I would advise cities beginning Vision Zero efforts to set goals that are ambitious but attainable, to engage people from a range of backgrounds and fields of expertise in the efforts, and to connect with peer cities frequently to share best practices and lessons learned and to foster a greater sense of camaraderie.”
Thompson said, “Vision Zero is not a single project with a finish line. Wilmington is at the starting line, and the full Safety Action Plan will translate the adopted policy into specific strategies, responsibilities, measures, funding needs, and timelines.”
With a largely undeveloped plan, residents will need to wait and see how Vision Zero will look for Wilmington.
