ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The City of Rochester is striving for a bold goal: Zero pedestrian crashes and deaths. Mayor Malik Evans discussed this ambitious Vision Zero initiative at the Central Library downtown, highlighting the city’s commitment to eliminating fatalities on the streets.

News10NBC’s Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean explored the design changes aimed at improving pedestrian safety. On East Avenue, for example, the city reduced the road to two lanes and added bump-outs at crosswalks. These changes help both pedestrians and drivers see each other more clearly. Bright crossing signs have also been installed to enhance visibility.

Mayor Evans emphasized the urgency of the initiative, noting that Rochester has had more pedestrian crashes resulting in injuries or fatalities than any other upstate city. From 2017 to 2021, Rochester averaged 17 such incidents per year, surpassing Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, and Yonkers.

“Rochester has had more crashes, more pedestrians injured and killed than our peer cities of Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, and Yonkers,” Mayor Evans stated. “This goal is to have zero pedestrian deaths into our future.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration identifies several factors contributing to pedestrian accidents. Notably, 76% of people are hit when it’s dark, and 73% are struck on busy streets with five or more lanes, speed limits over 30 mph, and more than 25,000 cars a day.

“We know that speeding is part of the reason why we’ve seen an increase in crashes,” Mayor Evans explained. “It’s harder to slow down if you’re going 50 miles per hour when it’s 30 miles per hour.”

A key component of Vision Zero is the introduction of speed radar cameras at specific intersections and streets to help curb speeding and enhance safety.

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