The local government of Quezon City announced a new initiative on Monday in collaboration with the public interest law group ImagineLaw to strengthen and advance its road safety efforts.

It is part of Quezon City’s commitment to the Partnership for Healthy Cities, a global network of 74 cities dedicated to preventing injuries and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease and cancer.

During the kick-off meeting, city officials joined representatives from ImagineLaw and the global health organization Vital Strategies to align on shared goals.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte stressed the importance of the new collaboration.

“This partnership is very important to us in addressing the challenge of road crashes and injuries in the city and in making our roads safer for all road users, especially pedestrians, cyclists and vulnerable groups,” Belmonte said.

In 2020, the city’s Transport and Traffic Management Department recorded 1,841 vehicular crashes, resulting in 12 fatalities and 638 injuries. Additionally, 57 pedestrians were involved in road crashes that year.

The partners committed to working together on key strategies to meet the city’s existing road safety ordinance. These efforts will focus on road crash data management, safer road design, stricter enforcement of speed limits and other safety laws, and post-crash response.

“We are excited to be working again with Quezon City towards the full implementation of the Quezon City Road Safety Code,” said Sophia San Luis, executive director of ImagineLaw.