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Mayor Bowser Names Linda Bailey Director of the Newly Created Vision Zero Office

Wednesday, January 16, 2019
As the Bowser Administration Continues to Roll Out Vision Zero Updates, Nationally Recognized Transportation Expert Joins District Department of Transportation

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that Linda Bailey will join the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) as the Director of the newly created Vision Zero Office. Vision Zero is the District’s initiative to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries in the District of Columbia.

“As DC continues to grow, we are very focused on implementing and enforcing policies and rules that keep everyone on our roads and sidewalks safe,” said Mayor Bowser. “Residents and visitors are moving around our city in record numbers – using new types of transportation and visiting new areas of the city. Our goal, and the goal of the Vision Zero Office, is to ensure that no matter how people are moving around DC or where they are going, they are able to do so safely.”

The Vision Zero office is tasked with working collaboratively within DDOT and across District agencies to improve the safety of Washington, DC’s transportation network. Bailey will lead a team of engineering, policy, and community outreach staff.

“When we announced the creation of the Vision Zero office last fall we pledged to seek out the best talent in the industry for this role, and we are excited to have Linda Bailey, one of the nation’s leading experts in urban transportation joining DDOT,” said DDOT Director Jeff Marootian. “I am thrilled that Linda will be bringing her depth of knowledge from working with cities across the country to our top priority of making the District's streets safer for all users.”

This announcement is the latest in a series of actions the Bowser Administration has taken over the past two months to double-down on the District’s commitment to Vision Zero. DDOT is in the process of implementing “No Turn on Red” at 100 intersections across the District. The agency is installing new infrastructure at nearly 100 intersections to safeguard pedestrians against left turning vehicles. And, beginning January 4, 2019, new Vision Zero regulations took effect designed to enhance safety for all roadway users.

Bailey comes to DDOT from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) where she has served as Executive Director since 2014. In her role, Bailey worked with a network of transportation officials from large U.S. cities to develop strong national policies based on best practices in various aspects of transportation policy, including street design, bicycle infrastructure design, public space design, transit-supportive street design, and green stormwater design for city streets. Bailey led policy development, with significant work on the accommodation of autonomous vehicles and oversaw the launch and operation of NACTO’s Global Designing Cities Initiative as well as the devleopment of six NACTO Designing Cities conferences in New York, San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin, Seattle and Chicago.

“I’m proud to have the opportunity to serve the residents of the District of Columbia and broaden the mission of Vision Zero,” said Bailey. “I am grateful to Mayor Bowser and Director Marootian for their confidence in me, and I am committed to promoting safety, and the kind of innovation that builds on DDOT’s position as a leader among the nation’s transportation agencies.”

Prior to joining NACTO, Bailey worked for the New York City Department of Transportation where she played a key role in developing the agency's Vision Zero Program and helped deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in federal transportation funding. As a federal programs adviser Bailey shaped the city’s applications for special federal grant programs including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects. Bailey began her career as a policy analyst focusing on senior transportation issues, federal transportation spending and the high cost of transportation for low income households.

Bailey will start her position as head of the Vision Zero office in March.

Bailey holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Michigan. She is a member on the Committee on Large Cities for the Transportation Research Board and a former board member of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.