In many cities, officials recognize that it's better to stop a problem from occurring than try to control it after the fact. When faced with a recurring problem (like riotous parties), they pass ordinances that target its root causes. Why not do the same with street safety?
Yep.
Cities build traffic-calming infrastructure, make streets non-contiguous to dis-incentivize thru-traffic,etc.
The strong towns effort has the same blinders as many other “well intentioned” groups - they see the world as intentionally designed rather than it’s organic reality.
Towns and cities change more like organic systems - an issue arises and today’s council/politicians/businesses/civil groups address it according to their goals and pressures.
Trying to plan beyond that assumes knowledge of tomorrow, which is naive at best, and flat-out hubris at the worst.