City engineers outline two-year Community Safety Action Plan and $108,000 grant to reduce fatalities and serious injuries

The City of Wenatchee’s engineering team updated the council on a two-year Community Safety Action Plan funded by a $108,000 grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. Emma Honeycutt, assistant city engineer, said the plan’s goal is to reduce fatal and serious injury crashes by implementing a Safe System framework across six target areas.

Honeycutt outlined the plan’s six core principles — target zero deaths and serious injuries; design for human error; account for human vulnerability; share responsibility among system actors; be proactive; and layer redundant protections — and the six program areas that will be used to implement the framework (safe road users, safer land use, safer vehicles, safer speeds, safer roads, and post-crash care). She noted the grant was awarded after a statewide nomination process and that the city was one of five communities chosen.

"Deaths and serious injuries are unacceptable," Honeycutt said, summarizing the plan's starting point. She explained that the plan uses a proactive, citywide approach rather than strictly reacting to crash locations, and it will target recurring roadway characteristics that correlate with severe crashes.

The project team has attended statewide and national conferences to study best practices including automated enforcement, telematics, and community engagement strategies. Honeycutt said the next steps include holding a multi-sector community meeting in October — the team aims to represent 12 sectors including faith communities, schools, media, health care and youth organizations — and that the second year will focus on implementing countermeasures and pursuing grant funding.

Council members thanked staff for the work. The presentation did not require immediate council action; staff said they will return with community meeting details and, subsequently, proposed programs for council consideration.