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Franklin reviews Safe Streets & Roads plan to pursue federal implementation grant; plan would target 20% reduction in serious crashes by 2040
Summary
City transportation staff presented Resolution 2025-32, the Safe Streets and Roads for All action plan, and told aldermen the plan would let Franklin compete for federal implementation grants to reduce serious injuries and fatalities.
City transportation staff presented the Safe Streets and Roads for All transportation safety action plan — Resolution 2025-32 — and asked the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to recommend approval to make Franklin eligible for federal implementation grant funding.
Jonathan (transportation staff) told the board the plan sets a target to reduce serious injury and fatal crashes by 20% by 2040 and that adopting the document positions Franklin to compete for the final round of implementation grant funding; staff noted an application deadline in late June. “Having this in place gets us really in competition for grant dollars that can go to these projects,” Jonathan said.
Aldermen asked whether the plan would change the city’s engineering standards for crosswalks. Jonathan and other staff said the plan is a strategic, data-driven framework to identify locations with vulnerable users and a high crash history and to pursue funding for interventions; it does not automatically alter city engineering standards or the local decision process for marking midblock crosswalks. "Those standards, the engineering judgment that goes behind approving those and where they go and and to what extent the protections that are applied don't change with this," Jonathan said, adding the plan is designed to guide use of safety tools rather than replace engineering judgment.
Aldermen discussed local pedestrian hot spots — including McEwen and Cool Springs corridors, Liberty Pike and Columbia Avenue — and stressed that marked crosswalks without supportive treatments could create a false sense of safety. Several aldermen urged staff to use the plan as a tool to pursue grants for targeted interventions such as beacons, controlled crossings and corridor improvements where counts and crash data justify them.
Staff recommended approval of the plan so Franklin can apply for implementation funding; the work session did not include a formal board vote. Staff said the application is time-sensitive and that state and federal agencies are signaling strong emphasis on Vision Zero-style targets and interventions.
