A High-Injury Network for Atlanta: How are severe and fatal-injury crashes concentrated on Atlanta’s streets?

Following the lead of Sweden in 1997, 32 US cities have adopted Vision Zero policies that aim to eliminate all traffic deaths on their streets (Vision Zero Network 2017). After New York City in 2012, numerous cities in the northeast and on the west coast have adopted such policies as a first step toward eliminating the tens of thousands of preventable deaths that occur in the US every year. Adding urgency to their cause is the fact that in the United States, the annual number of traffic fatalities has increased since 2011, after decreasing steadily for decades. Cities can target future investments by creating a High-Injury Network which identifies the city streets where the majority of severe injuries and fatalities occur. This paper examines the precedent of Vision Zero policies and High-Injury Networks established in US cities and around the world. It looks at varying approaches to analyzing and representing severe injury and fatality data while considering a number of challenges posed in implementing a High-Injury Network. It aims to address the following question: How does street design in Atlanta impact the incidence of severe injury and fatality in traffic collisions