11:00am - 12:00pm ET

Hear directly from the experts featured in this year’s Vision Zero Cities Journal. Speakers will share insights, research, and real-world experiences on street safety, traffic planning, and reducing car dependency in cities.

Elif Ensari, Research Scholar, NYU’s Marron Institute of Urban Management

Jack Greenwood, Research Associate, Transportation Alternatives

Isaac Levy, Senior Transportation Planner, City of San Antonio Transportation Department

Qiuyang Lu, Senior Transportation Engineer, Institute for Transport and Development Policy

Anna Zivarts, Author, When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency

12:30pm - 1:30pm ET

This panel examines how political decisions and power structures directly influence street design and safety outcomes. Experts will unpack how funding, governance, and institutional priorities determine whose needs are met—and whose are overlooked—in transportation planning. The conversation will explore strategies to challenge entrenched power, build political will, and advance policies that create more equitable, people-centered, and lifesaving streets.

Featuring:

Laura Kavanagh, Former Commissioner, New York City Fire Department

Giovanni Pintor, Founder, adessobasta

Ruth Rosas, Program Manager, America Walks

Angie Schmitt, Author, Right of Way: Race, Class and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America

2:00pm - 3:00pm ET

After a decade of Vision Zero in the U.S., many are asking: Is it really working? The answer lies in both measurable progress and ongoing challenges. Communities like Hoboken, Seattle, and Austin are proving that Safe System strategies save lives, while others are learning that real change takes time, leadership, and persistence.

Vision Zero has transformed how we think about road safety, shifting the focus from “human error” to system design, from speed to safety, and from siloed work to cross-sector collaboration. Reflect on progress, lessons learned, and what it will take to achieve lasting safety in the decade ahead.

Featuring:

Tiffany Smith, Program Manager, Vision Zero Network

Kristina Curtiss, Senior Transportation Planner for Vision Zero, Seattle Department of Transportation

Joel Meyer, Program Manager, Vision Zero Program, Austin Transportation Department

Claire Yates, Program Manager, Vision Zero Louisville

IN-PERSON CONVENING
Hosted by NYC Department of Transportation. Representatives from city governments are invited to join this two-hour session for a focused dialogue on advancing Vision Zero goals. Participants will engage with NYC Vision Zero Task Force leadership and staff to discuss recent successes, persistent challenges, and innovative strategies shaping the next decade of traffic safety. Designed as an interactive exchange rather than a presentation, the session will foster collaboration among peer cities, highlight data-driven approaches and legislative advances, and explore shared opportunities to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries on our streets.

Please contact Erin LaFarge - elafarge@dot.nyc.gov - if you would like to attend.

ROSENTHAL PAVILION

Safer streets and better transit networks start with the people who use them. This session explores how cities can work with coalitions to design connected, multimodal systems—linking walking, biking, and transit—and use technology as a tool to make those systems more responsive. From real-time feedback channels to tools that improve transit connections, we’ll discuss how to amplify community voices, remove barriers to no-motor vehicle options, and create safer, more accessible streets for all.

Featuring:

Jeffery Brault, Vice President of Global Public Affairs, NYC Ferry

John Frost, Executive Director, Bike Share & Shared Mobility, New York City Department of Transportation

Rita Joseph, District 40, NYC City Council

Tristan Massalay-Ellis, Manager of Strategic Partnerships, Verra Mobility

ROOM 907

Safe streets don’t just save lives—they fuel stronger local economies. From boosting small business revenue to lowering public health costs and transportation expenses, investments in walkable, bikeable infrastructure deliver outsized returns. In this session, researchers, BID leaders, and advocates will share compelling data and real-world examples that make the economic case for street safety. Learn how cities are leveraging safe street design to attract investment, support commercial corridors, and create more affordable, resilient communities.

Featuring:

Mike Flynn, Vice President + NY Sector Manager, TYLin

Ed Janoff, Chief Strategy Officer, Union Square Partnership

Andrea Jenkins, City Councilor, Minneapolis

Stacey Matlen, Senior VP, Innovation, Partnership for New York City

ROOM 914

Speeding is one of the deadliest factors on our roads, yet proven solutions to slow drivers down are often overlooked. This panel will bring together advocates advancing Stop Super Speeder laws, Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology, and the powerful voices of Families for Safe Streets to highlight how policy change is possible—and urgently needed. Panelists will share how survivor stories, data-driven campaigns, and innovative technology are shifting the conversation on speed nationwide. Attendees will learn strategies for building coalitions, framing the issue to policymakers, and turning personal tragedy into action that saves lives.

Featuring:

Ivan Cheung, Visiting Senior Research Fellow, Vision Zero Network

Thomas DeVito, National Director, Families for Safe Streets

Natalie Draisin, North American Director, FIA Foundation

Erin LaFarge, Director of Safety Policy, New York City Department of Transportation

Kim Summerlot, Director of Learning Solutions and Operations, Learn.net

ROSENTHAL PAVILION

Behind every blocked safety bill is a web of influence—auto manufacturers, dealerships, state DOTs, and oil interests. This session breaks down the political power protecting car dominance and shares strategies for shifting decision-making to serve people, not profit. Panelists will explore how we challenge industry influence and put safe streets first.

Featuring:

Elizabeth Adams, Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Transportation Alternatives

Emily Gallagher, New York State Representative, Assembly District 50

Taylor Jaffe, Program Manager & Environmental Justice Associate, Catskill Mountainkeeper

Kevin LaCherra, Local Street Safety Advocate

Michael Woloz, President & CEO, CMW Strategies

ROOM 907

Transportation systems have long been built around the needs of a narrow segment of the population—most often the “average man.” From car crash tests based on male bodies to street cleaning schedules that ignore the realities of caregivers, gender inequities are baked into how we design, fund, and operate our streets and vehicles. This panel will explore how transportation can—and must—better serve women, caregivers, and gender-diverse communities. This conversation will outline practical steps for cities and agencies to build gender-equitable transportation systems.

Featuring:

Kanza El Hamel, Field & Equitable Partnerships Coordinator, Transportation Alternatives

Mary Rose Fissinger, Senior Transportation Planner, Fehr & Peers

Melissa Hart, Founder & CEO, eBodyGuard

Maria Weston Kuhn, President & Founder, Drive Action Fund

ROOM 914

As climate change fuels more frequent and severe disasters—from flooding to wildfires—our streets must evolve to protect communities and maintain essential mobility. This session brings together experts in emergency response, resilience policy, and urban planning to explore how street design can mitigate disaster impacts and support recovery. Panelists will share strategies for integrating green infrastructure and building adaptable, multi-use corridors that serve both everyday needs and extreme events. Attendees will learn about the unique role that roadway infrastructure plays in emergency response and how thoughtful design can be a frontline defense in climate adaptation and community safety.

Featuring:

Kate Fillin-Yeh, Senior Associate, Transportation, Stantec

Tom Klein, Director, Center for Urban and Community Design, University of Miami

Nkosi Muse, Environmental Fellow, Harvard University

Hilary Semel, Director, Mayor’s Office of Environmental Coordination

ROSENTHAL PAVILION

Nationwide, ICE is explicitly targeting locations where people do not have cars: bus stops, bus stations, and parking lots where people without cars might be picked up for day labor. In LA, people who employ undocumented immigrants have taken to driving them from location to location to avoid public transit. And across the U.S., immigrants are more likely to rely on biking, walking, and public transit, and are disproportionately killed in traffic crashes. This panel will bring together experts in traffic safety and immigrant rights to talk about what's happening, how it will set back Vision Zero, and what we can do as communities to protect people.

Featuring:

Claudia Irizarry Aponte, Senior eporter, THE CITY

Ligia Guallpa, Executive Director, Workers Justice Project

Brad Lander, New York City Comptroller

Max Markham, Executive Director, Policing Project, NYU Law

ROOM 907

New York City’s congestion pricing program has been years in the making—surviving lawsuits, federal delays, and fierce political opposition. In this session, advocates who fought on the frontlines will unpack how they built and sustained momentum through shifting administrations, legal battles, and public skepticism. They’ll be joined by voices from other cities that have implemented or are pursuing congestion pricing to share lessons on coalition-building, framing the policy around health, equity, and affordability, and navigating intense opposition. Together, speakers will explore what’s next for NYC’s program and how other cities can learn from its victories and setbacks to win their own fights.

Featuring:

Danna Dennis, Senior Organizer, Riders Alliance

Sam Schwartz, former New York City Traffic Commissioner

Nick Sifuentes, Program Director, The Summit Foundation

Midori Valdivia, Board Member, Metropolitan Transportation Authority

ROOM 914

With federal funding uncertain and local budgets stretched thin, cities and advocates must find creative ways to finance life‑saving street safety improvements. This panel will highlight strategies for securing funding in resource‑scarce environments, from leveraging state programs and private partnerships to using low‑cost, high‑impact design solutions. Speakers will share success stories of communities that have advanced Vision Zero projects without waiting for big federal investments, and offer practical tools for advocates to make the case that safe streets are worth prioritizing—even when money is limited.

Featuring:

Shayna Rose, City Planner II, City of Baltimore

Ryan Russo, Executive Director, NACTO

Jarrett Stoltzfus, Director of Infrastructure, Transportation, Arnold Ventures

Caron Whitaker, Deputy Executive Director, League of American Bicyclists