On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said more than 200 communities across the country would share in more than $82.6 million in roadway safety planning grants.
As part of the Safe Street and Roads for All (SS4A) program, 235 regional, local and Tribal communities will receive grants for planning and demonstration projects that will improve safety, as well as prevent deaths and serious injuries on roadways throughout the U.S. The funds will help communities design safety action plans, inform improvements along corridors with safety issues, and build strategies to test out safety features like separated bicycle lanes and curb extensions at intersections.
A key element of the DOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy, helping communities plan and design safer streets helps combat roadway fatalities, officials said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics have shown roadway fatalities have fallen for five quarters in a row but said tens of thousands of people still die on roadways each year in America.
“Whether it’s a dangerous intersection or highway, or a need for better bus and bike lanes, no one can better pinpoint a community’s safety needs than the people who actually live and work there,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “In the past five years, the communities we are awarding these grants to experienced nearly 14,000 roadway deaths. To help change that unacceptable reality, we are proud to deliver this needed funding to help them address their unique safety needs and save lives.”
Friday’s announcement identified 235 communities in 46 states and Puerto Rico that will receive grants. It is the first of two announcements, the department said.
Included in the grants are $1.44 million for the Navajo Nation Division of Transportation to develop a new comprehensive safety action plan; $400,000 for the Bangor (Maine) Comprehensive Transportation System to develop an action plan and pilot temporary demonstration activities; and $192,000 for the city of Deerfield Beach in Florida to test a temporary build project designed to increase safety, accessibility and mobility along the Southwest 3rd Avenue corridor.
“I know from my time as Commissioner of New York City Department of Transportation that roadway safety projects save lives,” U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg said. “The Department is so excited to partner with communities all across the country to quickly and nimbly get these plans ready for action.”