Staff outlines Safe Streets for All scoring method and reports 2024 adaptive‑design pilots and other project updates

City staff used the Jan. 15 Transportation Commission workshop to present a draft prioritization and scoring methodology for the Safe Streets for All grant, to announce upcoming public outreach, and to recap adaptive‑design pilots and other active projects across Spokane.

Inga (project lead) said staff will open a public open‑house event and a companion online survey to gather location suggestions; the draft scoring matrix uses eight equally weighted criteria (each scored 0–5) to rank candidate intersection and mid‑block treatments. Staff said the intent is to score all candidate locations, rank them, and work from the top down when allocating the Safe Streets funds. Staff emphasized that the grant work is focused on historically disadvantaged areas within the grant boundary and that social vulnerability measures are part of the prioritization.

Staff provided concrete examples of completed and pilot work from 2024: temporary/“adaptive” bump‑outs at Altamonte & 11th and near Cooper Elementary on Freya; a center refuge at Broadway & Chestnut; protected bike‑lane chevron treatments on Spokane Falls Boulevard; and the Post Street Bridge mixed‑use path. Staff reported three projects installed in 2024 under the adaptive‑design approach and said several more projects are planned for 2025, including additional pedestrian hybrid beacons at four locations and neighborhood traffic‑calming cycles for 2025.

Staff also explained the city’s inventory of mobile speed‑feedback trailers: 11 trailers that collect speed data (new models with wheel detection) plus additional units that do not collect speed data. Staff said trailers are solar powered, have seasonal charging limits, and will be deployed for neighborhood requests and project evaluation in spring.

On data inputs, staff noted crash history, number of lanes/crossing width, lighting, and proximity to transit or destinations as scoring elements. Commissioners asked staff to clarify how crash history would be treated (e.g., multiple serious injuries at a single location) and whether the matrix should weight crash history more heavily than other factors. Staff said the draft could be adjusted to change weights and asked commissioners to comment on which criteria the commission preferred to emphasize.

Next steps: staff will host the open house (date announced in meeting materials), make the survey live for several weeks, score identified candidate locations using the draft matrix, and return to the commission with a ranked list for final prioritization and programming.

Key data and clarifications cited in the meeting

- Safe Streets for All grant referenced by staff with an amount of $1,000,000 (as stated by project lead). - Draft scoring: eight criteria, each 0–5 points, equal weight in the draft version. - Adaptive/pilot projects completed in 2024: three installations (bump‑outs, protected bike‑lane chevrons, center refuge). - City reported roughly 15 miles of new bike facilities added in the last three years and a long‑term goal of 220 miles by 2037; 38 miles completed since 2018 was stated in staff remarks. - Inventory of mobile feedback trailers: 11 trailers that collect speed data; some older trailers do not collect speed data and are used for longer deployments or non‑data tasks.

Commission guidance requested: whether crash history should be weighted more heavily, whether crossing width and number of lanes should be separate scoring items, and whether distance to the nearest alternative crossing should be considered in prioritization.