SLC mayor announces ‘Vision Zero Task Force’ to eliminate traffic deaths

SALT LAKE CITY — In 2022 there were 26 traffic-related deaths on Utah roads. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said enough is enough and  signed a proclamation Wednesday to achieve a vision zero.

“It should not matter what time of day or what mode of transportation people take they should be able to do so safely and without fear of lives being lost,” Mendenhall said.

“Of the 26 people who died last year, they include a young girl, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters our officers will never get use to knocking on a family’s door to let them know that their loved one has died and will not be coming home,” Chief Mike Brown, Salt Lake City Police Chief said.

Mendenhall said it goes beyond creating a raised crosswalk or additional traffic signal; relying on best practices is no longer good enough. The city will adapt the “Safe Streets Task Force” that was put together in 2022, into a “Vision Zero Task force, joining 45 other cities in the movement across the country.

The Vision Zero Nonprofit campaign aims to bring together local leaders and policymakers to the conversation about safer roads.

She calls this significant step forward to making Salt Lake City streets and sidewalks as safe as they can be.

The strategic plan of how to accomplish these mile stones has not been mapped out in detail but Mendenhall hopes to achieve a vision zero by the year 2035.