Pasco MPO adopts Safety Action Plan and Vision Zero resolution aiming to eliminate traffic deaths by 2050

The Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization voted to adopt a countywide Safety Action Plan and a Vision Zero resolution committing to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2050.

Katherine Tlesz, principal transportation planner with consultant Fehr & Peers, presented the plan’s findings after more than a year of work. The plan identifies county crash trends, a 10‑segment high‑injury network, and 33 recommended actions organized under the Safe System framework. Actions range from low‑cost, quick‑build engineering changes and data‑sharing to outreach, enforcement coordination, and targeted countermeasures at critical intersections.

Tlesz said the plan sets a 2050 target to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries and highlighted practical next steps: maintain a safety task force that meets biannually, conduct before‑and‑after studies of interventions, pilot countermeasures on the high‑injury network, and integrate plan actions into the MPO’s project selection and programming processes.

Commissioners pressed staff for more concrete project recommendations tied to the plan’s funding sources. Commissioner Jack Mariano requested that the consultant evaluate long‑standing candidate projects such as a proposed Cody River underpass, saying multiple jurisdictions and constituencies have advocated for it. Tlesz noted the draft includes targeted projects in chapter five, and staff invited commissioners to submit locations for additional study before final adoption.

The board moved and approved the Safety Action Plan and then adopted a Vision Zero resolution committing the MPO to the 2050 goal by voice vote. Staff said final adoption will be reflected in June meeting materials and that some items remain contingent on collaboration with FDOT and other partners.