Systematic upgrade of pedestrian infrastructure

Responsible Authority: Local Governments, Ministry of Interior: Construction and Planning Agency

Give everyone a way! We're all born pedestrians.

1. Physical Sidewalks

Smooth, continuous, and unobstructed sidewalks should be the norm so that pedestrians and people with disabilities can navigate easily.

• Every newly built road should have a physical sidewalk.
• Upgrade sidewalks for existing urban roads, even when not legally required.
• Create a timeline to replace green pedestrian strips with physical sidewalks.
• Remove obstacles (e.g., street lamps, telecom boxes) on existing sidewalks.
• Make sidewalk ramps smooth and shallow enough that wheelchair users can go up easily.

2. Pedestrian-First Crosswalks

Pedestrian crossings are extensions of the sidewalk. Pedestrians have the right of way when crossing, and crossings should be designed with this principle in mind. Design improvements include but are not limited to the following:

• Curb Extensions to slow down vehicles and move pedestrians out of vehicle blind spots.
• Zebra crossings should be set back from intersections by at least one car length.
• Minimize crosswalk distance.
• All multi-lane crossings should have a pedestrian-only crossing phase and/or pedestrian islands.
• Zebra crossings should be raised to the same height as the sidewalk, not the road.
• Add more mid-block crossings (with pedestrian islands).
• Standardize pedestrian islands for different types of road.
• Ensure that crosswalks have adequate lighting to be visible at night.
• Move scooter parking off the sidewalk and onto the road.

3. Road Diet

• Make road lanes narrower to encourage slower driving.
• Eliminate shoulders from urban streets.
• Institute a speed limit of 30 km/h or less in school districts, residential areas, and areas with many elderly people. Reduce lane width to no more than 2.8 meters.
• Make the speed limit at most 30 km/h on as many roads as possible.

4. Expand mass transit to reduce reliance on private vehicles.

5. Increase the proportion of pedestrian-only (car- and scooter-free) space in urban areas.

Revise driver education and testing

Responsible Authority: Directorate General of Highways, Ministry of Transportation and Communications

Driver education should make safety the highest priority, and training should emphasize driving behaviors and rules that safeguard pedestrians.

1. Fix driver education

• Repeal the provisions of Article 58 of the Road Traffic Safety Regulations so that more driver training happens on real roads with other drivers.
• Training and testing must ensure drivers are proficient and can drive safely in realistic conditions.
• Establish driver education norms based on safety, compliance with laws and regulations, and respect for other road users.
• Widely publicize any new regulations to ensure licensed drivers, and continue to educate drivers to follow the driving principles of safety, law-abiding, and respect for other road users

2. Fair testing

• Examiners should be randomly assigned to test takers to ensure that driver exams are conducted objectively and to reduce fraud.

3. Improve instruction quality

• Base instructor salaries on the actual number of teaching hours instead of a flat fee.
• Establish a standard hourly rate for driver instruction and ensure students complete sufficient instruction hours according to their aptitude.

Enforce traffic laws that protect pedestrians

Responsible Authority: law enforcement, local governments, Road Safety Committee

1. Communities and law enforcement should actively ensure sidewalks are clear and unobstructed. Police should actively crack down on illegal parking and obstructions to pedestrian areas.
2. Police should adopt a zero-tolerance policy for drivers who do not yield to pedestrians.
3. Drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians (including when there is no traffic light) should be fined. Don't punish victims. Stop victim blaming. Pedestrians should not be accountable for collisions with vehicles on roads without sidewalks. (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQf-zdXBM8s)
4. Implement a driver's license point system for violations.

New Traffic Legislation

Responsible Authority: Legislative Yuan, Ministry of the Interior

Overhaul Taiwan's traffic laws to make regulations, penalties, rights, and responsibilities coherent and promote pedestrian and driver safety.

1. "Basic Traffic Safety Law"

In the next session of the Legislative Yuan, review the "Basic Traffic Safety Law" to ensure it is designed around the principle that roads are usable by pedestrians and bicycle riders, not only motor vehicles. It should be compatible with the spirit of Vision Zero, "Human-oriented Transportation" and "Sustainable City".

2. Standardize the Road Design Code so that it guarantees pedestrian space and mandate adherence by local governments.

Road design standards should be enforceable to ensure local governments across the country satisfy basic requirements. This includes, but is not limited to: establishing a maximum lane width according to the speed limit, a minimum sidewalk width, minimum friction coefficient for sidewalk material, height range of the physical sidewalk, specifications for safety barriers next to green pedestrian strips, etc.

Bring Vision Zero to Local Governments

Responsible authority: County and City Mayors

1. Six-City "Vision Zero"

The elected governments of the six cities (Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung) should take the lead in formulating urban traffic policies based on the spirit and principle of Vision Zero, giving priority to the pedestrian safety, and steadily and continuously reducing the number of road casualties.

2. Create a timeline for Vision Zero in each county and city.

The European Union has set a Vision Zero goal by 2050. We call on local governments to set the goal of halving pedestrian casualties by 2030 and zero pedestrian deaths by 2040.

3. Bring World Car-Free Day to Taiwan

World Car-Free Day is an annual event on or around September 22 where people are encouraged not to use private cars, and instead to use public transportation, bicycles, or walk. Make 922 Taiwan Car-Free Day!

4. Pilot Open Streets

Pilot open streets on select busy roads where motor vehicles are prohibited at fixed times of the week and pedestrians can use the entire road. Give the streets back to the people!