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Webster Groves to pilot six Safe Streets for All demonstration projects; federal review delays purchases
Summary
City staff told the Sustainability Commission that six pilot Safe Streets for All projects — including speed humps, adaptive signals and a multi‑use path — are planned for fall, but equipment purchases are on hold pending a federal environmental review.
Webster Groves staff told the Sustainability Commission on June 16 that six demonstration projects funded through the Safe Streets for All planning grant will be piloted this fall, but the city cannot buy equipment or begin construction until a federally required environmental review is complete.
The projects identified for pilot testing include speed humps; adaptive signal timing; variable speed limit signage; in‑road warning lights at pedestrian crossings; a multi‑use path; and a pedestrian hybrid beacon. “We can't even purchase the equipment for these demonstration projects until that requirement has been fulfilled,” Sean Finnegan, the city's sustainability coordinator and staff liaison to the commission, said. He added: “We expect that that will be completed by the September, hopefully by the September 1.”
The pilots will be staggered rather than installed all at once. Before physical work begins, the city will send a community survey later this summer describing the six demonstration options and collecting resident feedback about perceptions and expected effects. Finnegan said the demonstration pilots are intended to inform the comprehensive safety action plan the city is developing under the existing planning and demonstration grant.
Finnegan also said the city had paused pursuing an implementation round of Safe Streets for All (SS4A) funding after learning the projects it considered were unlikely to be awarded. Instead, the city will proceed with the planning and demonstration activities already funded. He noted the environmental review is a federal requirement tied to grant funding and that the review’s completion is a gating item for purchases and installation.
The commission was also told about upcoming public engagement: an informational event with TrailNet on July 9 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the recreation center, and the city’s participation in National Night Out on Aug. 5, where Safe Streets representatives plan to table. Tenille Rose Martin, the grant manager for the Safe Streets project, was named as staff who will help with public outreach.
The commission requested continued updates on the environmental review timeline, the community survey schedule, and the sequencing of individual demonstration installations.
