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Sharing is hard—just ask a five-year-old! Or spend a few minutes at a busy traffic intersection as pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists jockey for position.
When we are on a mission—buying groceries for dinner or heading to a scheduled event—efficiency matters. As motorists, we fidget while waiting for a light to turn green or curse softly as the one ahead turns yellow. We yearn for a local version of Germany’s Autobahn.
As pedestrians, we don’t want to wait for the “walk” sign to light. In the middle of the block, we give in to the temptation to run across a busy street, expecting motorists to adjust.
As riders of bicycles or scooters (motorized or not), we want to drive at the speed of cars but ignore pesky traffic signals. The laws may apply but we don’t expect to be punished for ignoring them.
Disturbed by my own experiences as a driver, bicyclist and walker, I wrote a piece for the Beacon in 2024 urging a return to the “red light” cameras of a previous decade. I learned that that the city of Rochester was actively pursuing a range of changes to the physical landscape and to laws and policies aimed at the dangers I witnessed every day on our streets.
Vision Zero is Rochester’s comprehensive plan to promote safe streets. With nearly 600,000 motor vehicles registered in Monroe County, there is no simple way to protect pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists from the thoughtless and reckless behavior of others. Modeled on successful efforts in other cities, the plan embraces a range of solutions, from re-engineering roadways and crossings to improve visibility and discourage unsafe speeds to a change in the laws and enforcement of laws governing drivers.
Rochester leads upstate cities in the rate of fatal crashes on the city’s streets. The city suffered 9.6 fatalities per 100,000 residents for the period 2020-2024, a rate that is 45 percent and 43 percent higher than Buffalo and Syracuse, respectively, and three times that of Yonkers.
At a Jan. 21 news conference, Mayor Malik Evans and Councilmember Mitch Gruber released the 2026 Vision Zero Progress Report, detailing the city’s efforts so far.
The report featured physical roadway improvements that have already been completed—like the center median pedestrian safety island on West Main Street, the buffered bicycle lanes on West Main, more visible crosswalks on Park Avenue and lane reductions on Culver Road.
An example from the 2026 Vision Zero Progress Report:
Evans noted that physical improvements and changes to laws must be backed up by enforcement. The School Bus Safety Program, which uses automated stop-arm cameras to document vehicles passing school buses when stop arms are extended and lights are flashing, is now being fully enforced. He reports that “as of Jan. 15, more than 8,000 warnings were sent to people who passed stopped school buses in the city of Rochester.” Warnings are only the beginning, he reminded attendees. “The warning period is over, and enforcement has begun.” Fines begin at $250 for the first offense and rise to $300.
The next phase of Vision Zero targets speeding. The city has engaged outside engineers to study the proposed reduction of speed limits to 25 mph. As the mayor emphasizes, behavior cannot be changed by a change in laws alone. Community conversations exploring the establishment of automated enforcement are planned for the spring with dates to be announced next month.
Passive changes to the streets will help. We are creatures of habit, however. For myself, I know that the risk of a ticket affects my behavior. The technology behind automated enforcement—both red light and speed cameras—has improved greatly since Rochester’s 2010 experience. We can trade a bit of freedom as drivers in streets that are safer for our families and ourselves.
Kent Gardner, Ph.D., Rochester Beacon opinion editor, is former chief economist at the Center for Governmental Research.
The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing [email protected].
Two thoughts. In France, the speed limit is absolute. They will ticket you for just one or two kilometers per hour over the limit. They have cameras that put out a big flash when they take a photo of you speeding, but only send tickets to a percentage of those caught on film and in particular to repeat offenders. The flash puts you on notice and slows you down in a hurry.
In America the speed limit is the floor and the issue is how much faster you can go before being in trouble, often 9 or 10 mph over the limit. It’s a guessing game, so we lower the limit to 25 in order to get people down to 30 or so. I like their system better.
Also, driving on narrow roads in England, it was explained to me that in America I have my side of the road and the other guy has his side. In England, we share the road. Since our country roads are wider, that is less applicable here, but the thought that we look out for each other surely beats road rage.
Speeding and aggressive driving are not just a city street issue. These habits are endemic on our highways with frequent tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic at well over 10mph faster than the cars already travelling 10mph over the speed limit. Speed limits are well and good but realistically it’s dangerous driving and aggressive driving that need to be tackled to make things safer. There is little to none of that. The same drivers weaving in and out of traffic and tailgating on highways are the ones driving unsafely on city streets. In Canada they literally confiscate your car and take away your license if you drive a certain amount over the speed limit or choose to drive aggressively. Perhaps what are needed are different penalties and better more targeted enforcement rather than different laws.