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A resolution urging the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Transportation and the Mayor's Office to renew and accelerate its commitment to Vision Zero initiatives to eliminate pedestrian fatalities, in response to a sharp increase in pedestrian and cyclist deaths in Nashville and Davidson County in 2026.
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WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Government has formally committed to Vision Zero, a strategy to eliminate all traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all through targeted infrastructure, enforcement, education, and engineering interventions; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution No. RS2022-1724, the Metropolitan Council adopted the Vision Zero Action Plan and Vision Zero Five-Year Implementation Plan designed to achieve Vision Zero by 2050; and
WHEREAS, the Vision Zero Five-Year Implementation Plan will expire in fiscal year 2027; and
WHEREAS, Nashville is currently experiencing a public safety emergency on its roadways, with 2026 trending toward one of the deadliest years in the last decade for pedestrians and cyclists; and
WHEREAS, recent victims of this crisis have included Larry W. Smith, and Hershel Trotter, who were killed while cycling, as well as Billy Ray Swaner, Yulonda Parham, and Kanon Oldham, who were killed while walking on Nashville streets; and
WHEREAS, Nashville has already recorded at least 20 pedestrian and cyclist deaths so far in 2026, a disturbing escalation representing four times increase from May 2025; and
WHEREAS, multiple fatal pedestrian and cyclist crashes have occurred along high-injury corridors such as Murfreesboro Pike, Gallatin Pike, Lafayette Street, and other streets identified in the Vision Zero High Injury Network. Several of these fatal wrecks have been due to speeding, inadequate lighting, and unsafe or absent crossings; and
WHEREAS, community groups and safety advocates have increasingly called on the Metropolitan Government to deploy...
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