A City in Motion

"Integrate Safety as a Default into Everything you do"

Christine Sherman Baker, Vision Zero Program Manager for Arlington County, Virginia, joins Jeremiah LaDuca for part three of the Vision Zero series. Arlington adopted its Vision Zero resolution in 2019 and its action plan in 2021, with a goal of zero severe and fatal crashes by 2030. She says crashes are down about 40% on the school zone segments where the county added speed cameras, and speeds are down about 16%.

In this episode:

• How she and an intern built Arlington's first high injury network, and how the method changed
• Why the county renamed its hot spot list "action spots"
• How quick builds move from an intake form to the street, and what they cost
• The intersection that got bollards in about a month while a signal waited 50 weeks for poles
• Reviewing every crash report each week, and what a near-miss study showed
• E-bikes, e-scooters and e-motos, and why they are missing from the crash report form
• Pop-ups, signs on the street and a snail mascot that tells drivers to slow down

Missed part two? Lauren Grove of the City of Durham on trusting the crash data you already have: https://acityinmotion.com/episodes

Look up your own city's traffic safety dashboard: https://acityinmotion.com/visionzero

If this was useful, follow the show and send it to someone who works on your streets.

"We know where people are dying and being seriously injured. To me, that's enough."

Lauren Grove, Vision Zero Coordinator for the City of Durham, joins Jeremiah LaDuca for part two of the Vision Zero series. In Durham, 10% of streets account for 74% of traffic deaths and serious injuries, and she says about 80% of that high injury network is state-owned road. She came to Durham after six years doing this work in Houston.

In this episode:

• How Durham built its high injury network, weighting the most severe crashes higher
• Why she tells people up front that a project may add 30 seconds at a light
• Trusting the crash data you already have, and where crash reports miss injuries
• Transportation equity emphasis areas, and where quick builds go first
• Finding a champion in another agency, and taking them to coffee
• Her path from neuroscience research to street design

Missed part one? Andy Boenau of the City of Richmond on why severe crashes trace back to design speed: https://acityinmotion.com/episodes

Look up your own city's traffic safety dashboard: https://acityinmotion.com/visionzero

If this was useful, follow the show and send it to someone who works on your streets.

Vision Zero: Rethinking How We Design Safer Streets with Andy Boenau

Andy Boenau is a transportation engineer and planner and the Director of the Richmond Department of Transportation, where he focuses on creating safer, healthier, and more accessible streets. With a background spanning transportation engineering, urban planning, and public health, Andy has built his career around challenging conventional approaches to mobility and advancing innovative strategies for safer streets.

In the first vision zero series episode of A City in Motion, we explore how communities can move beyond traditional crash statistics and take a more proactive, data-driven approach to roadway safety.

Andy shares his perspective on Vision Zero in Richmond, including the role that public safety dashboards, speed data, and innovative analysis tools can play in understanding how people actually use our streets. We discuss why agencies should look beyond crashes alone and consider near-misses, speeding, conflicts, and other indicators of risk that can reveal dangerous conditions before someone is seriously injured or killed.

The conversation also explores the intersection of street design, engineering, planning, psychology, and public messaging. We talk about how transportation professionals can influence driver behavior, communicate safety more effectively, and challenge conventional thinking that can sometimes prevent agencies from considering new approaches.

From new ways of analyzing transportation safety to the future of Vision Zero, Andy offers a thought-provoking look at how communities can become more creative and proactive in pursuing a transportation system where no loss of life is considered acceptable or inevitable.

Enjoy and follow on YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Check out our new website: acityinmotion.com!

What separates good projects from great ones? In Episode 1 of A City in Motion, host Jeremiah LaDuca talks with Steve McWilliams and Kevin Martin — two of North America's most experienced transportation leaders at AtkinsRéalis — about what it truly takes to deliver at scale.

Steve led the I-75 Phase Design-Build in Florida, widening 22 interstate miles along one of the state's busiest freight corridors. Kevin has overseen major programs including the Purple Line transit project in the D.C. metro region.

In this conversation:

- The non-negotiables every project leader needs

- How trust and innovation drive problem-solving

- Leadership lessons from billion-dollar infrastructure programs

- Advice for the next generation of engineers and planners

If you work in transportation, infrastructure, or public service — this one's for you.

🚊 Transit Leadership & Innovations with Debra In this episode, Jeremiah sits down with Debra to explore the future of public transportation and the transformative power it has on our communities. They discuss Debra’s leadership philosophy, her work at RTD, and groundbreaking projects like the Colfax BRT and downtown rail reconstruction. Key topics include:

• Public-Private Partnerships: How RTD collaborates with concessionaires and private partners to expand rail and bus services.
• Youth Fare Programs: Insights on RTD’s Zero Fare for Youth program and its impact on school attendance and community access.
• Transit as a Societal Equalizer: Debra shares her experience as the first woman to lead a transit agency and her vision for inclusive, accessible systems.
• Revitalizing Transit: Strategies for making transit appealing, safe, and central to sustainable cities, including partnerships with sports teams, events, and new technology like tap-to-pay.

💡 We want to hear from you: How would you redesign your city’s transit system if resources were unlimited? Drop your ideas in the comments and join the conversation!

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share to help spread the discussion about shaping the future of transit.

Transit Leadership & Innovation with Paul Comfort | A City in Motion Podcast

In this episode, we sit down with Paul Comfort, Former CEO of MDOT | SVP & Chief Customer Officer at Modaxo Americas and host of Transit Unplugged / Transit Unplugged TV.

Paul brings a wealth of experience from his time as CEO of the Maryland Transit Administration in Baltimore, along with a background in county government. He’s also the author of six best-selling books, including “The New Future of Public Transportation,” which hit #1 on Amazon.

In this conversation, we explore:

✅ Paul’s transition from leading MTA Baltimore to the private sector

✅ Lessons from successful transit projects like Brightline and the Purple Line

✅ Common misconceptions about public transportation

✅ How to reframe transit to attract riders across all backgrounds

✅ Insights from his recent travels through European transit systems

✅ The future of transit in America and bold predictions for 2035

✅ Tips for growing a successful transit podcast

Whether you’re a transit professional, urban planning enthusiast, or just curious about the future of transportation, this episode is packed with insights from one of the industry’s leading voices.

Connect with Paul Comfort:

Transit Unplugged TV: https://www.youtube.com/c/TransitUnpluggedTV

Transit Unplugged Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@transitunpluggedpodcast

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/paulcomfort

#PublicTransit #Transportation #UrbanPlanning #TransitLeadership #Podcast​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with David Dixon, Santec’s Urban Places Fellow. We delved into various urban development topics, such as density, transit, micro-mobility, and the significance of creating walkable, mixed-use communities that can attract talent and foster economic growth.