Windsor city council yet to see Vision Zero policy draft, despite four-year wait

It's been more than four years since Windsor city council greenlit administration to put together a Vision Zero policy — but that still has yet to happen.

Vision Zero is a strategy that aims to eliminate all road fatalities and injuries by redefining traffic deaths as "preventable" rather than "inevitable."

Through this approach, cities which adopt Vision Zero policies are encouraged to redesign their infrastructure to keep drivers, pedestrians and cyclists safe while sharing the road with one another.

Back in April 2019, councillors in Windsor greenlit city administration to draft a Vision Zero policy report.

This past December, the City of Windsor's executive director of operations, Shawna Boakes, told CTV News the final draft of a Vision Zero policy would likely be presented to council by February 2023.

But, as of July 2023, that still has not happened.

Boakes did not respond to a request for a follow-up interview Tuesday.

Hadi Haidar, an engineer and urbanist, said it is "critical" for the city to move quickly on implementing a Vision Zero policy. According to Haidar, safer and equitable neighbourhoods can help tackle this region's housing crisis.

"Things like multi-zone neighborhoods so kids are in areas of busier foot traffic, building roads that are much narrower and smaller, maybe even going away from pavement roads to cobblestone," said Haidar. "Those are really good motivator to slows vehicles down. We're just not seeing that right now here."

Haidar is among five panellists who will be part of a discussion Wednesday at Maiden Lane in downtown Windsor, centered on the topic of how to build cities which are more "kid-friendly."

According to panelists, urban areas have been planned with a focus on accommodating cars and catering to adults, resulting in challenges for children to engage in independent play without parental supervision to navigate the bustling traffic.

"We're actually listening to a podcast called My First Errand where children in Japan are told to go run their first errand, like picking up green beans from the nearby store. Some of these kids are as young as four to six. We can't even imagine doing that here," said Haidar.

"It's not just Japan. Even places like the Netherlands and a lot of European cities keep kids in mind when building their cities. But, here in North America, we're having issues like climbing deaths and car accidents."

City Coun. Kieran McKenzie said the process of finalizing a Vision Zero draft has taken longer than expected due to internal challenges and resource constraints within city administration, particularly in the traffic operations department.

However, he added, it is important to wait for a more comprehensive report rather than see it rushed "just for the sake of debate."

"If that's what's required so we can have a really good debate about what it is that we can do, then I'm okay with that," said McKenzie. "At the end of the day, these are going to be very important recommendations."

McKenzie said, since 2019, administration has engaged the public on what a Vision Zero policy should look like.

However, he added, it is better to wait due the importance of ensuring the recommendations are thoroughly prepared before they are presented for debate.

"Frankly, there are a range of views on council about what we can and should do to make the community safer for everybody. We're certainly all eagerly anticipating that report coming forward. I'm told that's imminent but I can't provide a timeline," said McKenzie.

As for Haidar, he said Windsor-Essex is taking steps forward to create safer streets for all, such as the development of row houses in Walkerville and weekend road closures in downtown Amherstburg.

"We know what it's like to live in certain areas that aren't car-centric. I think, now, we just need a courageous administration in our city to start implementing it,” he said.

Nearby regions which have adopted Vision Zero policies are London (in 2017), Hamilton (in 2019) and Guelph (in 2022).