Sun Corridor MPO presents 2024 update to Pinal County safety plan after review of 22,000 crashes

Irene Higgs, executive director of the Sun Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization, and consultants presented a 2024 update to the Pinal County strategic transportation safety plan at the Board of Supervisors’ Jan. 22 special session.

The update covers crash data from January 2018 through December 2022 and identifies more than 22,000 reported crashes in the region over the five-year period, including about 360 deaths. The study lists nearly 100 candidate projects, 38 of them located in areas the report flags as disadvantaged, and highlights federal funding opportunities the county and its cities and towns can pursue.

Why it matters: the plan creates a countywide framework for targeting fatal and serious-injury crashes, aligns local agencies for competitive grant applications and identifies projects that could qualify for large federal implementation awards.

The report’s authors said the numbers represent people, not abstract statistics. "These aren't numbers. These aren't statistics, these are people, people's lives, their families, their friends, their neighbors that are impacted by these crashes that we're going to be talking about," Michael Blankenship of Greenlight Traffic Engineering told supervisors. Blankenship and Sun Corridor staff emphasized the plan is intended to support grant applications under the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program, which allows jurisdictions to seek large-scale construction awards.

Key findings cited in the presentation: - The update used ADOT crash records for 2018–2022 and tallied roughly 22,000 reported crashes in the Pinal County region during that period, with about 360 fatalities. - About half of the recorded crashes occurred on state routes or other ADOT facilities; roughly half of the fatalities were on the state system. Interstate 10 accounted for a notable share: 15% of county fatalities were on I‑10. - In unincorporated Pinal County there were approximately 5,600 crashes and 132 fatalities in that five-year window. - Single‑vehicle run‑off‑road crashes were common in rural/unincorporated areas; intersection-related crashes (rear end, left‑turn, angle) were more frequent inside cities such as Casa Grande. - Public outreach included more than 300 people at in‑person events and nearly 600 online survey responses; speeding, tailgating and handheld device use ranked among top concerns.

The presentation outlined seven emphasis areas tied to safety strategies — engineering, enforcement, education and emergency response — and a Vision Zero–aligned target to reduce fatal and serious injuries by 20% over five years. Blankenship noted enforcement limits and recommended using a mix of countermeasures; he said SS4A funding can support projects beyond sites with prior fatalities, allowing jurisdictions to target “hot spots” identified through data and stakeholder input.

Sun Corridor staff and the consultant shared examples of candidate projects and prior HSIP-funded work in Pinal County: intersection signals, pedestrian HAWK beacons, flashing stop signs, shoulder pavements with rumble strips and corridor passing‑lane projects on state routes. The presentation said about $28–29 million in HSIP projects have been funded within the county in recent years, with another $20 million in applications submitted on the most recent cycle.

Irene Higgs said the countywide update was developed in partnership with the Maricopa Association of Governments, Central Arizona Governments, ADOT, FHWA and local agencies so all planning areas in Pinal County are consistent in priorities and project identification. "We put a slide in here. Pinal County is very unique. It is divided into 3 transportation planning organizations," she said, explaining why a unified plan was needed.

Public engagement: staff said two additional public outreach events were scheduled in February (including Lost Dutchman Days and an event in downtown Florence) to solicit comments on the draft report. The Sun Corridor MPO plans to seek executive board approval in March and requested a county resolution of support in April to help local jurisdictions compete for SS4A implementation funds.

What’s next: the MPO will finalize the draft after the 30‑day comment period, circulate updated slides to county staff, and work with Pinal County to form the safety committee required for SS4A grant readiness. Staff also said they will share the plan’s interactive screening tools with local agencies and law enforcement so jurisdictions can reweight criteria for their own prioritization.

The presentation and discussion lasted the majority of the work session; supervisors asked for additional corridor‑level numbers (for US‑60 and other state routes) and for follow‑up detail on trends through 2023 and 2024 so the county can compare recent years to previous studies.