Here's a good goal: Zero Traffic Fatalities

Chicago is going to give it a go. The "Chicago Forward Action Agenda  [PDF]", published earlier this month by the Chicago Department of Transportation, starts with "Safety First." Their first performance measure under Safety is:

1. Eliminate all pedestrian, bicycle, and overall traffic crash fatalities within 10 years.

Wow.

Turns out Chicago isn't the first jurisdiction with this goal. Sweden beat them to it in 1997 when their parliament endorsed zero road fatalities as a long-term goal [PDF]. They call it "Vision Zero", and they are making some decent progress. Their per capita fatalities have dropped considerably.

One of The Atlantic's blogs has a nice summary of the idea.

See, things CAN get better!

Via, via