As proposed in Arlington's Vision Zero Action Plan for transportation safety, the County hosts an annual an Annual Safety Feedback Form to help us track how the Vision Zero initiative is changing transportation safety in Arlington and learn about community needs.
2024 Annual Safety Feedback Engagement
The County would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the 2024 Annual Safety Feedback Engagement! There were 860+ online, 10+ mail-in, and 640+ in-person interactions (including family events, food distribution events, an event at a high school, and a community walking tour) where we were able to collect valuable feedback on road safety in Arlington.
Read the short summary(PDF, 631KB)
See the full report(PDF, 3MB)
2022 Annual Safety Feedback Summary
In spring of 2022, the project team held a month-long engagement opportunity to hear more from you about your experiences. We reached over 900 people who travel in Arlington and summarized the feedback we received below.
View the Overarching Vision Zero Public Engagement Plan(PDF, 2MB)
To report a potential safety issue, please use the County’s Request for Service portal. The portal will first request the location of the issue. Then, select “Transportation/Safety Investigation” as the type of issue and add comments or photos to provide details about the issue.
Arlington staff have translation resources, so please report problems in any language.
Thank you for being an advocate for safety in Arlington!
Arlington County first launched the Critical Crash Mitigation Campaign in 2022 as a way to foster safer driver behaviors by educating community members on the top safety risk factors seen in Arlington's crash data. We share the campaign through the Vision Zero website and newsletter, local advertisements, safety stakeholders, social media, and other Arlington newsletters and emails.
The 2024 campaign launched in January and provides new, year-round messaging around a different theme each month. The themes will be released on a rolling basis and have been identified through Arlington's Critical Crash Review team based on common factors involved in severe and fatal crashes in Arlington. See below for themes released so far:
- January: Pedestrian Crashes in Dark Conditions - Multilingual Brochure(PDF, 370KB) | Horizontal Graphic(PDF, 66KB) | Vertical Graphic(PDF, 72KB)
- Winter presents many road challenges, one of which is longer hours in dark conditions. It is important to be extra vigilant while driving in the dark by going the speed limit and checking for pedestrians crossing the road. If you are crossing the road, cross in a designated crossing area.
- February: Safe Lane Changes - Multilingual Graphic(PDF, 430KB) | Horizontal Graphic(PDF, 594KB) | Vertical Graphic(PDF, 602KB)
- Simply adjusting your mirrors can make a huge difference in driving safely. Get a refresh on setting your mirrors to cover your blind spots here.
- March: School Slow Zones, 20MPH All Day, Every Day - Multilingual Graphic(PDF, 601KB) | Horizontal Graphic(PNG, 712KB) | Vertical Graphic(JPG, 158KB)
-
Arlington County code calls for permanent 20 mph speed limits on neighborhood streets within 600 feet of a school access point. These school zones are marked with signs and on the pavement throughout the county and are enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (even on the weekends and during the summer). Learn more about our school zone retrofits initiative here.
- April: Minor distractions cause serious crashes. It's okay to pull over and pause. - Multilingual Graphic(PDF, 573KB) | Horizontal Graphic(PNG, 626KB) | Vertical Graphic(PNG, 471KB)
- April is distracted driving awareness month. At least 1 in 5 crashes in Arlington is related to distraction, but it's not always someone on their phone. Factors like adjusting vehicle settings, passengers, sun glare, eating, and operating GPS have all led to severe crashes. Remember that it's okay to pull over to pause rather than risk someone's life.
- May: No one wants a vehicle speeding by while they're at work. Slow down in work zones! - Multilingual Graphic(PDF, 580KB) | Horizontal Graphic(PNG, 570KB) | Vertical Graphic(PNG, 562KB)
-
Construction season is here! Work zones involve large equipment, traffic pattern changes, lane closures, uneven pavement, variable speed limits, and most importantly workers. When driving near a work zone, lookout for highway workers, adhere to all signage, and drive distraction free. Click here to learn more about work zone safety.
- August/September: Give Students a Brake! - Multilingual Graphic(PDF, 436KB) | Horizontal Graphic(JPG, 426KB) | Vertical Graphic(JPG, 159KB)
- As Back-to-School season kicks into gear, be on the lookout for 20 mph school zone speed limits and school crossings. Arlington County finished updating all school zones in the County this spring. Now we're doubling down on school zone speed limits with tactical speed humps on local roads and speed cameras on arterials roads. Slower is safer for everyone.
- September/October: Could you pass drivers ed class today? Take the Vision Zero quiz to find out! - Multilingual Graphic(PDF, 541KB) | Horizontal Graphic(JPG, 330KB)
- November: Pedestrian Crashes in Dark Conditions - Multilingual Brochure(PDF, 370KB) | Horizontal Graphic(PDF, 66KB) | Vertical Graphic(PDF, 72KB)
-
Winter presents many road challenges, one of which is longer hours in dark conditions. It is important to be extra vigilant while driving in the dark by going the speed limit and checking for pedestrians crossing the road. If you are crossing the road, cross in a designated crossing area.
See below for other critical crash mitigation campaign materials and information.
In-Street Educational Signage
The 2023 relaunch also included expansion of the campaign to include an in-street element that targets people walking and biking. The in-street materials include messaging about safety tools to create awareness of (1) what they are and (2) why they are effective in enhancing safety. By increasing awareness about safety infrastructure, we will increase awareness about safe transportation practices. This tools-focused campaign component will start by educating roadway users about four types of tools identified in the Vision Zero Multimodal Engineering Safety Toolbox:
- Curb modifications (i.e., bump outs)
- Pedestrian crossings with leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs) and 'No Turn on Red' signs
- Rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFBs) at crosswalks
- Bike boxes / two-stage bike turn boxes
2022 - 2023 Campaign Content
The 2022 and 2023 campaigns used the same messaging materials. The campaign was focused on changing human behaviors that are commonly involved in transportation crashes that result in severe or fatal injuries. The Vision Zero team used critical crash data to identify the following five themes to educate drivers about these key safety issues:
Recap: Vision Zero Year 3 Open House
Due to relatively low attendance at the in-person Vision Zero Open House events in previous years, the County changed our approach to engagement in 2024. Rather than rely on one Open House, we hosted an interactive virtual Open House StoryMap. Additionally, we hosted more Annual Safety Feedback Engagement pop-ups to meet people where they are and engage proactively with members of the community. We also scheduled a Vision Zero update to the Transportation Commission to provide an outlet for a presentation-style update open to members of the community, as well as co-hosted a "walk and learn" event open to all members of the community in the National Landing area focusing on recent and upcoming action on High-Injury Network corridors and new development.
Recap: Vision Zero Year 2 Open House
DES hosted the Annual Vision Zero Open House on Wednesday, April 26 from 4-7pm at the Arlington Mill Community Center. If you weren't able to make it, please take a look at the meeting materials in English(PDF, 6MB) or Spanish(PDF, 10MB).
Staff across several departments and bureaus offered updates to the community on the Vision Zero program including: Year 2 progress (as detailed in the 2022 Annual Vision Zero Report), before/after safety studies that reviewed how past safety projects have impacted crash rates, and the newly released transportation safety equity analysis. We also gathered feedback on the initiative and input on additional safety needs as we enter Year 3 of our Vision Zero program.
Recap: Vision Zero Year 1 Open House
We hosted the Year 1 Vision Zero Open House on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, at Lubber Run Community Center where we discussed activities and progress during Year 1 of Arlington’s Vision Zero program. If you weren't able to make it, please take a look at the meeting materials in English or Spanish.
2024 Mid-Year Report & Meeting
The Year 4 mid-year virtual meeting of the Vision Zero External Stakeholder Group took place on Thursday, October 24, 2024, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Arlington County staff presented highlights from the Vision Zero Year 4 Mid-Year Report and discussed upcoming activities and initiatives. Then, representatives from the External Stakeholder Groups and members of the community provided input on the status of the Vision Zero program and future needs to help achieve our goal of zero transportation severe or fatal injuries.
View the Year 4 Mid-Year Meeting Slides(PDF, 5MB)
View the Vision Zero ESG Year 4 Mid-Year Progress Meeting here:
View the Year 4 Mid-Year Report: English | Spanish
2023 Mid-Year Report & Meeting
Please note: The Vision Zero team has moved the cycle of annual reporting to the Calendar Year instead of the Fiscal Year, to make it easier to follow for everyone working towards safer streets in Arlington.
The Year 3 mid-year virtual meeting of the Vision Zero External Stakeholder Group took place on Thursday, October 19, 2023, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM. Arlington County staff presented highlights from the Vision Zero Year 3 Mid-Year Report and discussed upcoming activities and initiatives. Then, representatives from the External Stakeholder Groups and members of the community provided input on the status of the Vision Zero program and future needs to help achieve our goal of zero transportation severe or fatal injuries.
View the Year 3 Mid-Year Meeting Slides(PDF, 1MB)
Watch the meeting recording
View the Year 3 Mid-Year Report: English(PDF, 3MB) | Spanish(PDF, 3MB)
FY2022 Mid-Year Report & Meeting
The Year 2 mid-year virtual meeting of the Vision Zero External Stakeholder Group took place on Tuesday, December 06, 2022, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM. Arlington County staff presented highlights from the Vision Zero Year 2 Mid-Year Report and discussed upcoming activities and initiatives. Then, representatives from the External Stakeholder Groups and members of the community provided input on the status of the Vision Zero program and future needs to help achieve our goal of zero transportation severe or fatal injuries.
View the Year 2 Mid-Year Meeting Slides(PDF, 5MB)
Watch the meeting recording
View the Year 2 Mid-Year Meeting Minutes(PDF, 203KB)
View the Year 2 Mid-Year Report: English(PDF, 4MB) | Spanish(PDF, 4MB)
FY2021 Mid-Year Report & Meeting
On December 14, 2021, we hosted our first mid-year virtual meeting of the Vision Zero External Stakeholders Group (VZESG), which was open to public participation. See below for links to the mid-year program report, meeting notes, and a link to the meeting recording.
Review the FY2021 Mid-Year Report
Leer el informe de medio año fiscal 2021
Thank you for your input as we developed the Vision Zero Action Plan. Your insights and experiences shaped the actions and next steps in the Action Plan that will make Arlington County a safer place to travel.
The final draft of the first five-year Vision Zero Action Plan was approved by the County Board on May 15, 2021.
View the Final Draft Action Plan
Engagement with the community will continue as we implement the Action Plan. Stay involved by signing up for program updates in the right hand panel of this page!
Public Engagement Checkpoint #3: Review the Draft Action Plan & Share your Thoughts!
The third and final public engagement checkpoint during the development of the Vision Zero Action Plan focused on sharing the Draft Vision Zero Action Plan that we developed using the community and stakeholder feedback gathered in checkpoints one and two. The online engagement form was open from Feb. 1 through Feb. 28, 2021. For those who were not able to engage online, we set up a kiosk at the Central Library pick-up location to provide a mail-in option.
A summary of the feedback we received is available here. We are very thankful for your help in developing this draft and are grateful for your input!
A Community Forum was also held virtually on Thursday, Feb. 11. The project team shared an overview of the action plan, highlighted how community input helped shape the document, and answered any questions asked about the action plan.
- View a recording of the virtual community forum on YouTube
- Slides from the short Q&A presentation summarizing the draft Action Plan are available below
Public Engagement Checkpoint #2: Learning from Your Experiences
Our second public engagement checkpoint for the Vision Zero Action Plan concluded on October 30, 2020. This conversation focused on learning from your experiences. Staff have reviewed the feedback we received, and put together this summary.
Engagement Summary – Checkpoint #2
County staff have also completed analysis of crash reports, and we learned a lot about where and how collisions occur.
See What We Learned
We collected feedback in the second public engagement checkpoint:
- Online Feedback Form
- The online feedback form allowed people to tell us about their experiences when walking, biking, rolling, or driving in Arlington. The form included an interactive map, where users marked the location of transportation safety issues that you have noticed or experienced first-hand.
- Dial-In Comment Line
- We accepted comments on your transportation safety experiences by phone as well. Phone prompts were available in English and Spanish, and the feedback was included with the online form feedback for review.
- Virtual Public Meetings
- We hosted two public engagement meetings for you to learn more, ask questions about our crash analysis work, and help build our shared knowledge about transportation safety.
- En Español: 30 Septiembre de 2020 alas 7 de la tarde
- In English: Oct. 1, 2020 at 7pm
Engagement Checkpoint #1 – Your Transportation Safety Goals and Priorities
The County hosted its first public open house for the Vision Zero Program on January 28, 2020 at Washington-Liberty High School. County staff members from DES, CPHD, DPR, OEM, DHS, and ACPD attended the meeting, along with Arlington Transportation Partners and Arlington Public Schools. More than 65 members of the public attended the meeting and participated in both informative and interactive activities targeted at understanding the community’s goals and priorities with regard to safe transportation. Here’s a summary of what we learned:
You can find the information shared at the open house below:
Este información también está disponible en español.
Public education and encouragement of safe travel practices are crucial steps toward Vision Zero. Arlington County develops tailored community messaging for our projects, initiatives, and campaigns. We also rely heavily on education materials developed by fellow jurisdictions and subject matter experts across the world. See links below for our Vision Zero Public Education Toolbox: a curated transportation safety education materials library to help your and your community learn about transportation safety.
What to do after a crash(PDF, 378KB)
Safe Speeds
Pedestrian Safety
Scooter Safety
Car Safety Seats(PDF, 135KB)
Bike Safety - coming soon!
Transit Safety - coming soon!
Impaired Driving - coming soon!
Distracted Driving - coming soon!
Go back to the Vision Zero project homepage.