11:00am - 12:00pm ET

Hear from the experts featured in this year’s Vision Zero Cities Journal.

Panelists Coming Soon!

12:30pm - 1:30pm ET

2:00pm - 3:00pm ET

ROSENTHAL PAVILION

Safe streets don’t just save lives—they fuel stronger local economies. From boosting small business revenue to lowering public health costs and transportation expenses, investments in walkable, bikeable infrastructure deliver outsized returns. In this session, researchers, BID leaders, and advocates will share compelling data and real-world examples that make the economic case for street safety. Learn how cities are leveraging safe street design to attract investment, support commercial corridors, and create more affordable, resilient communities.

Featuring:

Stacey Matlen, Senior VP, Innovation, Partnership for New York City

ROOM 907

Speeding is one of the deadliest factors on our roads, yet proven solutions to slow drivers down are often overlooked. This panel will bring together advocates advancing Stop Super Speeder laws, Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology, and the powerful voices of Families for Safe Streets to highlight how policy change is possible—and urgently needed. Panelists will share how survivor stories, data-driven campaigns, and innovative technology are shifting the conversation on speed nationwide. Attendees will learn strategies for building coalitions, framing the issue to policymakers, and turning personal tragedy into action that saves lives.

Featuring:

Ivan Cheung, Senior Advisor, Federal Highway Administration

Thomas DeVito, National Director, Families for Safe Streets

Natalie Draisin, North American Director, FIA Foundation

ROOM 914

Safer streets and better transit networks start with the people who use them. This session explores how cities can work with coalitions to design connected, multimodal systems—linking walking, biking, and transit—and use technology as a tool to make those systems more responsive. From real-time feedback channels to tools that improve transit connections, we’ll discuss how to amplify community voices, remove barriers to no-motor vehicle options, and create safer, more accessible streets for all.

Featuring:

Jeffrey Brault, Vice President of Global Public Affairs, NYC Ferry

ROSENTHAL PAVILION

Behind every blocked safety bill is a web of influence—auto manufacturers, dealerships, state DOTs, and oil interests. This session breaks down the political power protecting car dominance and shares strategies for shifting decision-making to serve people, not profit. Panelists will explore how we challenge industry influence and put safe streets first.

Featuring:

Michael Woloz, President & CEO, CMW Strategies

ROOM 907

Transportation systems have long been built around the needs of a narrow segment of the population—most often the “average man.” From car crash tests based on male bodies to street cleaning schedules that ignore the realities of caregivers, gender inequities are baked into how we design, fund, and operate our streets and vehicles. This panel will explore how transportation can—and must—better serve women, caregivers, and gender-diverse communities. This conversation will outline practical steps for cities and agencies to build gender-equitable transportation systems.

Featuring:

Kanza El Hamel, Field & Equitable Partnerships Coordinator, Transportation Alternatives

Melissa Hart, Founder & CEO, eBodyGuard

Maria Kuhn, President & Founder, Drive Action Fund

ROOM 914

As climate change fuels more frequent and severe disasters—from flooding to wildfires—our streets must evolve to protect communities and maintain essential mobility. This session brings together experts in emergency response, resilience policy, and urban planning to explore how street design can mitigate disaster impacts and support recovery. Panelists will share strategies for integrating green infrastructure and building adaptable, multi-use corridors that serve both everyday needs and extreme events. Attendees will learn about the unique role that roadway infrastructure plays in emergency response and how thoughtful design can be a frontline defense in climate adaptation and community safety.

Featuring:

Tom Klein, Director, Center for Urban and Community Resilience, University of Miami

Nkosi Muse, Environmental Fellow, Harvard University

ROSENTHAL PAVILION

New York City’s congestion pricing program has been years in the making—surviving lawsuits, federal delays, and fierce political opposition. In this session, advocates who fought on the frontlines will unpack how they built and sustained momentum through shifting administrations, legal battles, and public skepticism. They’ll be joined by voices from other cities that have implemented or are pursuing congestion pricing to share lessons on coalition-building, framing the policy around health, equity, and affordability, and navigating intense opposition. Together, speakers will explore what’s next for NYC’s program and how other cities can learn from its victories and setbacks to win their own fights.

Featuring:

Danna Dennis, Senior Organizer, Riders Alliance

ROOM 907

Nationwide, ICE is explicitly targeting locations where people do not have cars: bus stops, bus stations, and parking lots where people without cars might be picked up for day labor. In LA, people who employ undocumented immigrants have taken to driving them from location to location to avoid public transit. And across the U.S., immigrants are more likely to rely on biking, walking, and public transit, and are disproportionately killed in traffic crashes. This panel will bring together experts in traffic safety and immigrant rights to talk about what's happening, how it will set back Vision Zero, and what we can do as communities to protect people.

Featuring:

Ruth Rosas, Program Manager, America Walks

ROOM 914

With federal funding uncertain and local budgets stretched thin, cities and advocates must find creative ways to finance life‑saving street safety improvements. This panel will highlight strategies for securing funding in resource‑scarce environments, from leveraging state programs and private partnerships to using low‑cost, high‑impact design solutions. Speakers will share success stories of communities that have advanced Vision Zero projects without waiting for big federal investments, and offer practical tools for advocates to make the case that safe streets are worth prioritizing—even when money is limited.

Featuring:

Shayna Rose, City Planner II, City of Baltimore

Location: New York University

Location: New York University

Location: New York University

Your City, Your Voice is a series of activist trainings developed by Transportation Alternatives’ renowned team of community organizers. Hear the lessons learned in their years of hyper-local, grassroots political activism. Absorb the tools and tactics that contributed to winning campaigns to change New York’s speed limit and introduce innovations like protected bike lanes, bike share, and speed cameras to city streets.

You’ll be taught how to engage with your neighbors and organize a successful local campaign — valuable lessons that could apply to the fight for a protected bike lane, an effort to protect a community garden, or a campaign to advocate for better food access for your community.

Featuring:
Shawn Garcia, Director of Organizing, Transportation Alternatives