Inside the Politics of ‘Safer Streets’

About this episode

The episode discusses how street design can enhance safety and the challenges of implementing Vision Zero initiatives.

What if the street itself did most of the work of slowing cars, instead of another sign or speed trap? Drawing on a new Bloomberg CityLab piece, Carlee Alm‑LaBar is joined by Edward Erfurt and Ann Arbor’s transportation manager, Malisa McCreedy, to talk about what these deaths say about speed, design, and the values baked into our networks. They explore why Vision Zero efforts struggle, how Ann Arbor is embedding safety into every project, and why planners and engineers often hesitate to talk openly about crashes, using Ann Arbor’s crash analysis studio, university partnerships, and quick‑build projects to show how a city can respond more directly to serious crashes. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES "Searching for the ‘Smoking Gun’ in US Pedestrian Deaths" by David Zipper, Bloomberg.com (April 2026) Downzone: City of Ann Arbor Hosting Crash Analysis Studio (Site) 2026 APA National Planning Conference (Site) "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens (Site) Strong Towns National Gathering (Site) Carlee Alm-LaBar (LinkedIn) Edward Erfurt (LinkedIn) Malisa McCreedy (LinkedIn) Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom. This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Join fellow members discussing…

People in this episode

Host: Carlee Alm-LaBar

Guests: Edward Erfurt, Malisa McCreedy

Topics covered

• traffic safety
• urban design
• Vision Zero
• crash analysis
• transportation planning

Keywords

• street design
• traffic safety
• Vision Zero
• crash analysis
• urban planning

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bloomberg CityLab, Strong Towns

Books & works: Searching for the ‘Smoking Gun’ in US Pedestrian Deaths, Great Expectations

Places: Ann Arbor

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