Gilbert officials review traffic-safety data; staff to collect more information on cameras, staffing and crossings

Town of Gilbert traffic engineers and the Gilbert Police Department briefed the Town Council at a study session Tuesday on local crash trends, enforcement activity and engineering measures to reduce serious injuries and fatalities on the town’s roadways.

“Keeping the community safe and efficiently moving through our community is one of our whys,” Traffic Engineer Susanna said during the presentation, summarizing the town’s approach to traffic safety.

The briefing covered the “4 E’s” of traffic safety — evaluation, education, enforcement and engineering — and included multi-year crash and enforcement data. Town staff said Gilbert’s crash rate per capita is lower than the broader MAG region (the Maricopa Association of Governments) and that, overall, Gilbert’s fatality rate is roughly 60% lower than the rest of the region, but that the town remains concerned about intersection crashes and motorcycle fatalities.

Gilbert’s traffic data presented to the council included these takeaways: crashes are concentrated at or immediately adjacent to intersections (about 80% of crashes since 2021); intersection-related fatalities are predominantly linked to speed and failure to yield; crash rates in Gilbert have remained generally stable since 2021; and Gilbert’s total crashes per 100,000 residents are about 42% lower than the MAG regional average. Staff cautioned that some MAG 2024 figures are still unofficial.

Rob Frost, commander with the Gilbert Police Department, told the council the department’s top contributing factors to crashes in 2024 are “speed too fast for conditions, failing to yield the right of way, drivers making unsafe…