Trafford Green Party's councillors are asking the council to target eliminating serious road danger from Trafford by 2040. Every other form of transport we take is virtually risk free, with any danger designed out. We see no reason why the streets where we live, go to school, work and shop can't be the same.

At the next council meeting on 12th October we will be proposing a Vision Zero motion, asking the council to aim for zero road deaths and serious injuries by 2040. If you agree, please pledge your support and give us a a short message why by clicking here.

Here is our motion:

This Council notes that 55 people were killed or seriously injured on its roads in 2019 and that this is 25% higher than the number in 2011 (44). In 2020, despite far lower overall traffic due to the pandemic, there were 7 fatalities, the third highest year in the decade 2011-2020. This Council believes that more needs to be done to reduce the number of casualties on its roads.

This Council notes that "Vision Zero" has been successful in many cities, regions and states worldwide. Vision Zero achieves change by combining strong enforcement of traffic law and better roadway engineering, with campaigns to encourage careful life-saving behaviour and to end dangerous anti-social behaviour by road users. This Council notes that Vision Zero not only improves road safety but can also help to tackle:

•   high levels of inactivity and poor public health;

•   poor air quality;

•   rising carbon emissions from road transport;

•   congestion; and

•   nuisance noise

Each of these great road issues is estimated to cost Trafford millions of pounds every year. Reported road casualties in Trafford alone caused societal costs (medical and ambulance, lost output and human cost) of £23.2m in 2019, according to the Department for Transport’s statistics, based on police records.

Almost all other forms of transport now have extremely low, or zero levels of casualties associated with their use. This Council believes that, in relation to road transport, the only justifiable target should be that in the longer term no one is killed or seriously injured on the roads that it manages.

This Council notes that Vision Zero requires substantial change over the longer term so that our streets offer a fairer balance between people and motor vehicles. These changes include less traffic, slower speeds, safe street design, safe space for cycling, safe junctions and crossings, safe vehicles and safe behaviour by road users backed up by robust enforcement.

This Council calls on the administration to take a bold approach to the safety of those travelling on its roads and especially those who are the most vulnerable – people on foot, people cycling and people on motorcycles. We need:

• an ambitious target to cut road deaths and serious injuries to zero by 2040 – with an interim target of reducing our numbers by 50% by 2030, compared with our average of 46 from 2011-2020.

• a clear Vision Zero action plan (using changes listed above) that drives progress on safety;

• effort to secure the necessary funding from sources such as grants, section 106 funding and revenue raising measures such as taking up the newly available power to enforce against moving traffic offences and issue penalty charge notices for contraventions;

• a recognition that this can’t be done by Trafford Council alone. The council will work with other bodies and authorities, such as the Greater Manchester Police, Transport for Greater Manchester, Highways England and Active Travel England, and ask them to do more to help reach Trafford’s Vision Zero goals.

• political will to make difficult decisions, and a leadership that is unafraid to communicate its Vision Zero goal and seeks to engage our communities in achieving it.

Vision Zero principles will change public perception about road danger, so that death and injury is no longer an inevitable part of our lives as we move around, but something that can be avoided if a serious and sustained effort is made to tackle the causes of the problem.