LEVERAGING LOCAL PRIDE TO IMPROVE SAFETY
The Village of Oak Park made a bold, community-driven commitment to eliminate traffic deaths on its roadways by creating a Vision Zero Action Plan. MUSE led an inclusive engagement process that put the needs and desires of Oak Park residents at the forefront of decision-making. Our team relied on a strong network of community organizations, ensuring that the right voices were brought to the table and key decision-makers were on board with the plan.
DETAILS
Client: Village of Oak Park Public Works, subconsultant to Sam Schwartz/TY Lin
Oak Park, IL
September 2023 – December 202
SCOPE OF WORK
bilingual community engagement
interdepartmental stakeholder engagement
graphic design + branding
survey design + analysis
MUSE METHOD
Family-friendly public engagement events held at local venues like the conservatory and recreation center gave residents an opportunity to connect with the project at their favorite neighborhood spots. We heard from residents, including young children and high school students, about instances where they have witnessed or been involved in crashes or near misses. Hearing these harrowing stories helped bolster the Vision Zero recommendations that are meant to protect the most vulnerable users of Oak Park streets.
The project team educated Village staff about Vision Zero, building a supportive coalition across departments including police, public health, fire, and public works. By looping in these important stakeholders early in the planning process, the team was more confident in the plan’s implementation strategy.
The project steering committee included representation from schools, parks, neighborhood groups, bike and pedestrian advocates, businesses, and accessibility advocates. Leveraging the committee’s networks helped our team foster connections to the broader Oak Park community and design a series of focus groups to bring new voices to the conversation, especially those who faced disproportionate impacts from traffic crashes.
Through each step of engagement, we tailored communication materials to translate technical concepts like street infrastructure for a broad public audience. We designed a set of illustrations to represent the Vision Zero Toolbox – a set of infrastructure tools recommended specifically for Oak Park – to gather opinions from residents.
MUSE developed the project brand and applied it across project materials. Custom stickers and engaging handouts created a low-barrier to entry for those interested in learning about Vision Zero and sharing their hometown pride.
COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES
Here’s what we heard during the Vision Zero Oak Park planning process.
I think it was wonderful, it was masterful. I heard from so many people who were engaged, I appreciate the way that you did it…what we’re doing here is creating this great runbook of how to reach out to our community and get them engaged.
Village Board Trustee Corey Wesley
It’s not often government hears praise from community engagement.
Village President Vicki Scaman
Let’s not hold ourselves to a national average [of high traffic speeds], let’s be better.
Walking tour participant
I would love to see protected and covered [bike] lanes that can be used year-round.
Open House participant
We need to remove beg buttons and provide a pedestrian lead time at all signaled intersections.
Survey respondent
