Vision Zero

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The City of Wilmington believes traffic deaths and severe injuries are preventable — not inevitable — by taking a proactive approach that treats traffic safety as a public health priority. In September 2025, the City of Wilmington adopted Vision Zero, an international strategy that uses a safe systems approach to prevent fatal and severe crashes. The City’s goal is to eliminate all traffic deaths and severe injuries by 2036.

What is Vision Zero?

Vision Zero focuses on moving people safely by prioritizing pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and other vulnerable users in planning and design. Road systems and related policies are shaped to ensure that inevitable human mistakes do not result in severe injuries or fatalities.

Now that the resolution has been adopted, a Vision Zero Task Force comprised of senior City officials and representatives from key partner agencies, including NCDOT, UNCW, the New Hanover Community Endowment, and the WMPO, will be established to develop an action plan. The group will gather data, engage the community, and report back to City Council with recommended next steps by winter 2027.

Funding for Vision Zero improvements will come from NCDMV license fee revenues through the Neighborhood Traffic Management CIP project, and additional grant opportunities.

Laying the Groundwork

While the Vision Zero Plan is being developed, the City is advancing priority traffic calming projects in key neighborhoods, including Rogersville Road, Tanbridge Road (between Eastwood and Wells), Charter Drive, Carl Street, Jeb Stuart Drive, Wallington/Lancaster Roads, and Burnett Boulevard. Construction is scheduled from March through October 2026, with data collection beginning in fall 2026 to evaluate effectiveness and guide future improvements. Pedestrian safety enhancements identified in the Walk Wilmington Plan(PDF, 54MB) will also move forward during this phase.

Help Us Achieve the Vision

We're hiring two positions to support the Vision Zero initiative:

  • Transportation Project Engineer
  • Transportation and Mobility Planner III

Apply Today

By The Numbers

  • 121 lives lost to traffic crashes in Wilmington between 2015 and 2024.
  • Pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for just 2% of collisions, yet represented 37% of all traffic deaths during that same period.
  • Since January 2025, 10 people have died in motor vehicle crashes in Wilmington, including seven pedestrians and one bicyclist.

  • The City is working to reduce vehicle speeds, as pedestrians have a 95% chance of surviving when struck by a vehicle traveling 20 mph or slower.

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