MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The City of Memphis is putting together a Safety Action Plan to identify dangerous intersections, streets and roadways with the goal of reducing serious injuries and deaths.
“One fatality or one serious injury is too many. We understand that feasibly we may not ever get to zero, but our goal should be zero,” said highway safety professional Doug Swett. “That's the vision: having zero roadway fatalities or serious injuries in our road network.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Memphis has had more deadly crashes per capita than any other city in the country.
“It’s very treacherous on Stage Road right below where Austin Peay turns into Jackson,” said Memphian Beverly Clay.
In addition to looking at the data, the city will be conducting several community listening sessions to see where to target. From there, the city will be able to get federal funding for infrastructure improvements and other safety planning.
“The traffic on Southern Avenue has been bad ever since the 2010s when somebody had the bright idea to reduce lanes from four to two,” said Memphian James Jackson.
Community members came out to Frayser on Thursday to vent their frustrations and share their experiences on dangerous Memphis roads that need improvements.
“It's like somebody on City Council genuinely believes that the black community doesn't deserve to have wide easily usable streets like the rest of the community,” Jackson said.
More community meetings are planned for January, and the types of projects will depend on what they hear from Memphians.