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LMPO outlines Transportation Resilience Improvement Plan, highlights crash hotspots and first‑responder coordination
Summary
LMPO staff presented draft work on a Transportation Resilience Improvement Plan that maps fatality and serious-injury crash hotspots, identifies critical facilities and recommends increased coordination with first responders and communications improvements.
LMPO part‑time planner Bill Frawley on Aug. 19 briefed the Transportation Policy Committee on progress assembling a Transportation Resilience Improvement Plan that maps crash hotspots, overlays flooding and other disruptions, and solicits stakeholder and first‑responder input to prioritize resiliency investments.
The why: Resilience work identifies where the transportation system is most vulnerable so officials can plan alternate routes and restore access quickly after crashes, floods, severe weather or other disruptions. “The darker spots you can see are these are heat maps. You can see the highest concentrations of major crashes,” Frawley said when showing county- and corridor-scale heat maps.
Key findings and next steps: Fatality and serious-injury hot spots cluster on I‑27, Marsha Sharp Freeway near Fourth Street and University areas, State Loop 289 south near University and several arterial intersections. The plan will produce a road-segment matrix to evaluate susceptibility to flash flooding, ice/snow, and crashes; overlay critical facilities (hospitals, county detention, state prison, food distribution centers, airport); and develop protocols to improve coordination and communications among agencies and first responders. Frawley described public and stakeholder engagement to date: two neighborhood workshops, stakeholder workshops, LEPC (Local Emergency Planning Committee) input, and surveys for the public, first responders and freight stakeholders.
Stakeholder comments cited the need for improved communications (including social media and possible shared radio frequencies), formalized agreements to restore access to critical facilities, and better coordination around planned events such as parades. Staff said FHWA will provide training on the VAST (Vulnerability Assessment Scoring Tool) after peer exchanges with other MPOs; LMPO is comparing peer approaches from Amarillo, Permian Basin and Midland‑Odessa.
The committee received the update; staff will continue to collect first‑responder survey responses, finalize draft chapters and compare stakeholder input with data overlays to identify priority resilience projects.
