Safety Training for Local Agencies

Problem

Local agencies find it difficult to identify and develop safety projects for Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding since very few of their staff are trained in safety analysis.

Noteworthy Solution

State and federal entities acknowledge that some local agencies have limited staff and their responsibilities cover a broad range of work that often monopolizes their time. They frequently are unable to take the necessary training to understand or apply traffic safety methods. In response, agencies have developed tools to help guide local practitioners through the HSIP safety analysis process. Federal and state agencies have developed the following resources to provide local agencies with safety analysis training and tools:

1. U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Improving Safety on Rural Local and Tribal Roads - Safety Toolkit (2014)
2. Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Traffic Safety Fundamentals Handbook (2015)
3. North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) training course using the New Jersey Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Manual (2016)

This practice is from the FHWA publication "Noteworthy Practices Manual - For Local Agencies Implementing Federal-Aid Highway Safety Improvement Program Projects." Download a PDF of the entire manual or view the HTML version.

Strategic Highway Safety Plan Involvement

Problem

Local agencies implement few Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP)-funded safety projects because project funding applications are seen as too complex and difficult.

Noteworthy Solution

To increase local participation in the HSIP process, the Minnesota and North Dakota DOTs developed Local Road Safety Plans (LRSPs) for each of the state counties (Refer to Case Study 10 for detailed information). To expedite project development, they provided local agencies with the HSIP project forms and required data for projects identified in the two state safety plans (approximately 14,000 specific actions at individual locations in Minnesota [Leuer, 2016, pers. comm.] and 3,000 actions in North Dakota [Kuntz, 2016, pers. comm.]).

The purpose of the Manual is, "to provide documentation and guidance to NHDOT staff and other safety stakeholders involved with implementing the HSIP in New Hampshire." The Manual was developed by an HSIP Committee directed by NHDOT staff and includes representatives from NHDOT, U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), local state agencies, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and regional development commissions.

This practice is from the FHWA publication "Noteworthy Practices Manual - For Local Agencies Implementing Federal-Aid Highway Safety Improvement Program Projects." Download a PDF of the entire manual or view the HTML version.

HSIP Application Guidance Document

Problem

The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding application process is a barrier for local agency staff due to the information required, a lack of prior experience with the process, limited resources, and competition for limited funds.

Noteworthy Solution

A funding process that considers the constrained resources of local public agencies and simplifies the funding applications is critical to enabling local agencies access to HSIP funds. One solution is to provide guidance to local agencies to help them successfully complete the application. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation€™s (NHDOT) HSIP Manual and Guidance (2013) document is a good example of this approach.

The purpose of the Manual is, €œto provide documentation and guidance to NHDOT staff and other safety stakeholders involved with implementing the HSIP in New Hampshire.€ The Manual was developed by an HSIP Committee directed by NHDOT staff and includes representatives from NHDOT, U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), local state agencies, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and regional development commissions.

This practice is from the FHWA publication "Noteworthy Practices Manual - For Local Agencies Implementing Federal-Aid Highway Safety Improvement Program Projects." Download a PDF of the entire manual or view the HTML version.

Crash Mapping Analysis Tool

Problem

A lack of accessible/user-friendly data prevents local agencies from participating in statewide safety planning efforts.

Noteworthy Solution

Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) developed the Minnesota Crash Mapping Analysis Tool (MnCMAT) to increase the accessibility and user-friendly features of its crash data. MnDOT's Division of State Aid for Local Transportation partnered with the Minnesota Local Road Research Board and the Minnesota County Engineers Association to develop the analysis tool. MnCMAT is a web-based application that provides 10 years of crash data for public roads in Minnesota. Individual crashes are spatially located along public roadways and up to 67 pieces of information are provided for each crash.

This practice is from the FHWA publication "Noteworthy Practices Manual - For Local Agencies Implementing Federal-Aid Highway Safety Improvement Program Projects." Download a PDF of the entire manual or view the HTML version.

Strategic Highway Safety Plan Involvement

Problem

A local agency has not participated in statewide safety planning efforts. The agency would like to participate but is unsure how to begin.

Noteworthy Solution

A state DOT's collaboration with local agencies who have successfully implemented safety measures is critical to planning efforts. Frequently, local agencies are not sufficiently engaged during project identification and development to effectively implement the recommended measures. This case study shows how North Dakota DOT (NDDOT) and New Jersey DOT (NJDOT) are addressing this issue by including commitments in their Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP).

This practice is from the FHWA publication "Noteworthy Practices Manual - For Local Agencies Implementing Federal-Aid Highway Safety Improvement Program Projects." Download a PDF of the entire manual or view the HTML version.

California Roadway Departure Safety Implementation Plan (RwDSIP)

California’s State Highway System (SHS) has approximately 15,100 center line miles. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) manages more than 50,000 lane miles of highways and freeways and is comprised of 12 districts. In 2012, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) developed the California Roadway Departure Safety Implementation Plan (RwDSIP) for Caltrans.

The RwDSIP identified a total of 7,198 candidate locations for countermeasures using two different approaches: 1) a systematic approach and 2) a comprehensive approach. The systematic approach identified crash types that specific countermeasures were designed to impact and selected clusters of locations where the targeted crashes exceeded the designated threshold, which varied for each countermeasure. Roadway characteristics and traffic volumes also were considered in candidate location selection.

Fletcher Avenue Complete Streets Redesign – Hillsborough County, Florida

Vision Zero Success Story – Infrastructure

Background

The Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), in the Tampa, Florida region, identified several corridors in the roadway transportation network that would benefit from infrastructure enhancements to improve the safety, mobility, and accessibility of all users, particularly pedestrians and bicyclists. Through early crash analysis, the MPO identified the top 20 severe crash corridors, later adopted in its Vision Zero Action Plan. The MPO Board supported prioritizing funding in the transportation Improvement Program for redesigns that included safety for all modes.

Fletcher Avenue, near the University of South Florida (USF), was one of the targeted corridors. From 2011-2013, the section of Fletcher Avenue from Nebraska Avenue to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard averaged over 1,100 total daily pedestrian crossings. Additionally, the corridor had a high pedestrian crash rate with 31 pedestrian crashes.

Improved Nighttime Lighting – Fremont, California

Vision Zero Success Story – Infrastructure

Background

The City of Fremont Vision Zero 2020 Status Report and Action Plan, published in March 2016, identified that approximately 50 percent of the City’s fatal and serious injury collisions occurred in the early or late evening, with the higher percentage of crashes occurring in the early evening period between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. In response to this data, the City accelerated an environmental sustainability initiative to upgrade street lighting to achieve more immediate safety benefits. Under this new initiative, the City replaced and retrofitted every existing street light with energy efficient light-emitting diode (LED) light fixtures. The LED fixtures, compared to previous high-pressure sodium lighting, improved nighttime visibility through better color rendering, provided more uniform lighting distributions, allowed for much greater flexibility regarding overall lighting output and control, and eliminated many dark areas between poles. Since nighttime driving inherently involves a low-light vision environment, the improved color contrast by LED lighting will provide better detection of pedestrians and roadside fixed objects.

Milwaukee Avenue Rapid Delivery Approach – Chicago, Illinois

Vision Zero Success Story – Planning, Implementation, & Evaluation

Background

Chicago’s Vision Zero Action Plan identified 43 High Crash Corridors, which are corridors where a disproportionately high number of people have been killed or severely injured in traffic crashes. The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) adopted a Rapid Delivery approach to provide a better response to the community and quickly address road safety concerns for specific corridors. This approach uses low-cost, rapidly implemented countermeasures including new street markings, signage, colored pavement treatments, and flexible delineators.

In 2017, CDOT piloted the implementation of the Rapid Delivery approach on the Milwaukee Avenue High Crash corridor, a 1.5-mile segment between Western Avenue and Division Street. This project was designed to enhance the safety of the corridor for people walking, biking, riding transit, and driving. Based on crash data collected from 2010 to 2014, there were 1,097 reported crashes. People walking and biking accounted for 20 percent of all crashes, however these more vulnerable users represented 66 percent of the injury crashes and 68 percent of the serious injury crashes in the corridor.

Speed Management Projects – West Palm Beach, Florida

Vision Zero Success Story – Infrastructure

Background

In August 2018, West Palm Beach became the fourth jurisdiction in Florida to adopt the Vision Zero initiative. The City focused on speed management as part of its Vision Zero efforts. As part of this focus, the City identified three speed management projects, all centered around reducing speeds and creating a safer space for pedestrians and bicyclists. These projects were initially developed under the City’s bicycle master plan and prioritized under Vision Zero.

One of the three projects was along Okeechobee Boulevard, where 33 percent of the crashes in the downtown area occurred. Forty-five percent of the crashes that occurred on Okeechobee Boulevard occurred during either the morning or afternoon peak hour. Fifty-two percent of the bicycle or pedestrian-involved crashes occurred at night.