Safe Streets Central Ohio

Safe Streets Central Ohio is an annual event hosted by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) in collaboration with key partners to highlight efforts throughout the region to reduce the number of traffic fatalities and severe injuries occurring on our roadways. This event provides an opportunity for local decision makers, transportation professionals, public health practitioners, advocates, and other partners to come together to share, learn, and network with a focus on transportation safety.

In the Central Ohio 10-county region, more than 200 people are killed each year as a result of preventable crashes occurring on our roadways. Another 1,200 lives are impacted by severe injuries. Along with many of our state and local partners, MORPC is actively working to mitigate these crashes and improve the overall quality of life for all Central Ohio residents and visitors.

Through the 2025 Safe Streets Central Ohio event, we hope to inspire collaboration and innovation to create a transportation system that is truly safe for all users.

9:00 AM: Registration & Networking

9:30 AM: Morning Plenary Session

• Human-Centered Safety: The Holistic Approach Panel Discussion
  
  • Eline de Boo, Senior Economic Policy Officer, Consulate General of the Netherlands
  • Rebecca Serna, Executive Director, Propel ATL
  • Paul Supawanich, Director of Programs, Global Designing Cities Initiative

11:00 AM: Panel Session 

• Safe Systems Research: The Ideas Behind the “How”
  • Dr. Eric Dumbaugh, Associate Director of the Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety, Florida Atlantic University
  • Andrea Miller, Senior Planner, Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization
  • Dr. Rachael Panik, President’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Georgia Institute of Technology

12:15 PM: Lunch & Safety Awards

1:00 PM: Discussion Session

• Roadblocks on the Path to Vision Zero
  
  • Safe Streets Central Ohio attendees are invited to engage in facilitated table discussions regarding the barriers they see between where our region is today and a future Central Ohio that has achieved Vision Zero. Discussion summaries will be reported to the afternoon session’s panelists to drive their moderated discussion

1:45 PM: Panel Session

• Breaking Down Barriers through Relationship-Building: the COAST Model
  • Jennifer Alford, PE, PTOE, Roadway Section Head, Ohio Department of Transportation
  • Brian Bautsch, Director of Safety Strategy, Honda North America
  • Michelle Fowler, Director of Advanced Mobility, Transportation Research Center
  • Capt. Matthew Parrish, Executive Officer, City of Columbus Division of Fire
  • Dr. Katherine Swidarski, Vision Zero Coordinator, City of Columbus Department of Public Service

3:15 PM: Closing Session

• The State of Safety in Ohio
• The State of Safety in Central Ohio
• A Closing Call to Action

This event would not be possible without the generous support of organizations and businesses across Central Ohio. 

View the sponsorship levels in the sponsorship brochure.

Please contact Amanda McEldowney at amceldowney@morpc.org for questions and to secure your sponsorship for 2025 today. 

Transportation Safety Champion Award
This award recognizes an individual or team for their commitment and efforts to improve traffic safety throughout Central Ohio. Whether through strategic initiatives, educational programs, or proactive safety measures, recipients of this award have made significant impacts in reducing risks and enhancing safety on the region’s roadways.

Transportation Urban Safety Project Award
This award is designed to honor outstanding projects that have made significant contributions to enhance transportation safety on roadways in an urban community in Central Ohio. This award recognizes a transportation safety project that demonstrates exceptional effectiveness in addressing safety challenges, implementing innovative solutions, and achieving measurable improvements on the region’s transportation system. This project incorporates roadway safety achievements that move Central Ohio towards zero deaths and serious injuries on the region’s roadways.

Transportation Suburban/Rural Safety Project Award
This award recognizes a project that has made significant contributions to enhance transportation safety on roadways within a suburban or rural community in Central Ohio. This award recognizes a transportation safety project that demonstrates exceptional effectiveness in addressing safety challenges, implementing innovative solutions, and achieving measurable improvements on the region’s transportation system. This project incorporates roadway safety achievements that move Central Ohio towards zero deaths and serious injuries on the region’s roadways.

If you have a safety champion, an urban safety project, and/or a rural safety project that you’d like to nominate for these awards, please fill out this form.

Previous Award Winners:

2024

• Transportation Safety Champion Award: Jeannie Willis, Director of Transportation and Mobility, City of Dublin, Ohio
• Transportation Urban Safety Project Award: Downtown Speed Limit Conversion, City of Columbus, Ohio
• Transportation Suburban/Rural Safety Project Award: Rosette Way Pedestrian Safety Improvements, Village of Richwood, Ohio