The WHO European Healthy Cities Network and the WHO Regions for Health Network have issued a joint statement calling for action for safe mobility and transport for urban populations. The statement was aligned to and supplements the Stockholm Declaration that was adopted by the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, held in Sweden on 19–20 February 2020.
Regions and cities committing to improving road safety
The Statement on Safe Mobility and Transport for Urban Populations recognizes the specific road safety challenges faced by urban environments – for example, in the EU, 70% of those killed on urban roads are pedestrians and cyclists – and emphasizes that the “levels of government closest to people and communities” should be the “key actors” in planning and implementing new policy frameworks, based on the participatory approach.
In addition to advocating the development of new urban planning policies, the Statement aims at spreading recognition of the “underlying social, cultural, economic and environmental factors that influence the road safety of urban populations” and promoting measures to address these factors.
Finally, the Statement promotes the role of existing networks, such as the WHO European Healthy Cities Network and the WHO Regions for Health Network, as key actors in building and strengthening partnerships at the regional and city levels. It invites cities, regions and other actors across society to deliver on its ambitions to provide safe, inclusive, healthy and sustainable cities and regions for all.
Road safety – a critical link between public health and healthy living
Every year, 1.35 million people are killed and 50 million are injured globally in road traffic accidents. They are the leading cause of death among children and young adults (5–29 years) and the eighth biggest cause among people of all ages. In addition, their economic and social consequences are massive. In the WHO European Region, more than 80 000 people are killed each year.
The WHO European Region and the Western Pacific Region are the only WHO regions to show reductions in road traffic mortality since the global community adopted the visionary but ambitious UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.6 to halve the number of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2020. In the WHO European Region, the decrease was 13% between 2010 and 2016.
A safe system approach, based on the principle that life and health should not be compromised by the need to move and travel, will help assess road traffic injury risk factors and interventions from a holistic perspective. Safety needs to be an integral element of land use, street design, transport system planning and governance, especially for vulnerable road users and in urban areas. Equally important is the strengthening of institutional capacity with regard to road safety law enforcement, vehicle safety, infrastructure improvement, public transport, post-accident care, and data management.
Strong leadership and political engagement are crucial, and cities must be empowered to be able to fully play their role. The importance of focusing on how healthy cities, regions and environments can be conducive to safe practices in transportation and mobility was also highlighted.
Reducing speed limits in cities – one of many practical measures that will save lives
During an event preceding the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, members of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network and WHO Regions for Health Network were given the opportunity to review success stories and proposals for actions to be further advocated in the coming years. These included:
- Reduced speed limits as one of the most important measures cities can adopt to make city streets safer. For example, Malmö (Sweden) lowered speed limits to a maximum of 40 km/hour in the city and 30 km/hour near schools and has seen many advantages.
- London’s Vision Zero objective and the safe systems actions that have been formally adopted as the pathway to achieve the objective.
- Safety as a prerequisite for biking, walking and using public transportation, especially in the case of women, children and the elderly. Finding a common perspective for the different policy domains and pillars in this area is also very important.
- The Utrecht bike! Programme is one of the key deliverables of the city’s ambitions of healthy urban living for everybody. Examples of measures introduced to this end are separate bike lanes, the world’s largest bike-parking facility, and dedicated bike bridges over the city’s canal.
- Political leadership, co-creation and participation are crucial. Citizen involvement will increase the success of pilot projects and the upscaling of interventions for safe transportation.