City of Talladega kicks off Vision Zero to provide safe streets for all

“One life lost is one too many.” This simple, yet firm, belief is one the City of Talladega feels very strongly about when it comes to street safety.  

According to research compiled by GMC’s Planning team, traffic accidents are the 10^th leading cause of death in Alabama, with 46,000 fatalities statewide in 2022. Alabama ranks seventh in per capita crashes in the nation, with one every three and a half minutes. 

From the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB) and Talladega College campus, to the highly trafficked downtown square and commercial corridors and bypasses, Talladega is a dynamic city in need of a strategy for the wellbeing of the community when it comes to safe travel. 

To ensure this, the City, in partnership with Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC), has initiated Vision Zero as a means to help eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while also increasing safe, healthy and equitable mobility for all.  

This plan came to be after the City applied for the Federal Highway Grant: Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A). To date, SS4A has provided $2.7 billion in federal funding to over 1,400 communities in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The two-part grant is first dedicated to the planning aspect, in which GMC will help to smoothly transition into the secondary stage – construction. 

GMC’s Planning team helps define a vision by immersing themselves in the communities around which they serve. For Talladega, that vision is safer roads and mobility opportunities. The team has led multiple meetings with focus groups for full community engagement, including the entirety of the city, Talladega College and the AIDB.  

Vision Zero is built on a systems approach, meaning it’s more than just improving roads, addressing speed limits or adding stop signs and red lights. It’s a commitment to safer road design, including engineering and design recommendations; education of citizens; and accountability by the city. 

The latest meeting held with the AIDB further illustrated the heart of community engagement – inclusivity and equity. Although these principles are always considered when working on a community master plan, Talladega is making an effort to uplift these values even further with AIDB as an integral part of the city makeup. This meeting in particular had a huge impact on leaders in the City of Talladega – showing them the untapped potential of these plans.  

Following the completion of the master plan in January of 2025, the City will apply for part two of the grant dedicated to construction and implementation of GMC’s recommendations as outlined in the plan. With more than $2 billion still available for future federal funding, the City of Talladega is aiming to take stake in those rounds to better its community for all.