By Quincy Midthun, Mayors Innovation Project
In 2024, nearly 40,000 people died on US roadways, including more than 7,000 people simply walking —a stark reminder that how a city’s streets are designed have life-or-death consequences.
At the Mayors Innovation Project’s Summer 2026 Meeting in Madison Wisconsin, mayors and national policy experts came together to discuss strategies for achieving safer street design quickly and with limited resources. Representatives from four cities, including Salem, MA; Knoxville, TN; Madison, WI; and Williamsport, PA, spoke on the panel to share best practices and learning lessons from their work. Below are four key takeaways from the session.
1. It’s never too late and you don’t need to be an expert to champion safer streets.
For Williamsport, PA Mayor Derek Slaughter, his interest in streets was borne out of an interest in renovating his city’s public parks and recreational facilities. “As we started renovating the parks and they were being heavily used, we started thinking about connectors and… how do people safely get to the parks,” explained Mayor Slaughter. Under his leadership, the City is in the process of developing its first ever Safety Action Plan which will help them identify their most dangerous streets and prioritize where investments should be made. Mayor Slaughter also emphasized the critical partnerships with Smart Growth America, Simply Spatial, and Trust for Public Land that have bolstered Williamsport’s planning and street design efforts.
2. US streets are trending in the wrong direction.
Heidi Simon, Director of Thriving Communities at Smart Growth America, emphasized that despite pedestrian fatalities having slightly decreased since 2022, US metros have seen a 72% increase in pedestrian fatalities since 2009. Poor driver behavior like texting, speeding, or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol are common excuses used to explain the grim statistics, but other countries are faced with the same problems and experience nowhere near the amount of fatalities. What’s unique about the US is how the vast majority of our streets are designed to prioritize cars and speed at the expense of safety and community connectedness. “The solutions are there… We have done universal changes in our transportation system before… We know that we can [make progress], if we want to,” said Simon.
3. Use data, not complaints, to inform where investments are made.
Cities can target and prioritize their most dangerous areas by shifting how they decide where investments are made, moving from complaint-based systems to data-based systems. Mayor Dominick Pangallo from Salem, MA shared how his City shifted their process from a petition based process to a data based process. Salem’s Priority Tool uses population demographics; proximity to high traffic areas such as schools, parks, active businesses; crash locations; and speed and volume data to determine where need for traffic projects is highest and most urgent. This ensures the city builds projects where they are needed most, rather than in neighborhoods where residents have the time and money to advocate for them.
4. Institutionalize safe street design and have a process to hold your City accountable.
Madison’s Director of Transportation Christof Spieler emphasized the importance of having standards and policies that make the safest choices the easiest choices. “We want to make sure we’re doing these projects routinely… If it takes your most talented project manager and your most talented engineer to do a street safety project, you will not make a safe city. You have to institutionalize [safe streets],” said Spieler. Madison’s Complete Green Street Guide sets standards for every street, detailing the speed and safety features they should have. Madison’s Transportation Commission, made up of Council and community members appointed by the Mayor, uses the guide to inform its decisions on street projects and holds the City accountable to its policies.
5. Don’t let perfect get in the way of progress.
Cody Gentry, Vision Zero Manager at the City of Knoxville, TN, spoke about the City’s quick-build projects—low-cost, reversible, and community-friendly projects that don’t require weeks of construction. Quick-builds can be built in a day with materials a city already has on hand: paint, cones, posts, etc. Gentry stressed that cities can make a big impact on a limited budget if they’re creative and have the courage to try. “Nothing is too small,” said Gentry. “Think of the smallest possible thing you can do to make your streets safer and do it.” Not only can these projects save lives, they help to show residents that the government is listening. “When you make changes as quick as you can, that builds so much community trust… Is [the project] perfect? [Maybe not.] But [it shows] we’re going to do whatever we can to make those streets safer,” said Gentry.
To access the briefing book and slide presentations from this panel, please visit our Summer 2026 Meeting webpage.