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Brownsville adopts Safe Streets action plan to pursue Vision Zero grants
Summary
The council adopted a Safe Streets for All action plan aimed at reducing traffic deaths and serious injuries and to make the city eligible for federal demonstration grants with an 80/20 match requirement.
Brownsville — The Brownsville City Council on Jan. 14 adopted an action plan under the federal Safe Streets for All initiative that the presenters framed as a local Vision Zero commitment to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries.
Tony (Safe Streets presenter) told the council the plan compiles approximately five years of crash data and said the city recorded 947 accidents in that period; he said the plan identifies speeding and intersections as priorities for intervention. "If you adopt the plan ... it puts you available to get all those funds as a resource," Tony said, describing how federal demonstration grants typically require an 80/20 federal/local match.
Presenters described potential projects that could be funded through the plan, including enhanced crosswalks and signage, speed‑feedback signs and mobile speed‑enforcement data systems that provide warnings rather than automated tickets under current Tennessee law. Tony said multi‑jurisdictional applications that include the state Department of Transportation (TDOT) can be more competitive and that TDOT can sometimes cover portions of the local match for projects on state routes.
Council members asked whether the plan would affect applications for other safety grants and how the plan’s recommendations would be implemented on state routes; presenters said the action plan can be used for multi‑jurisdictional grant applications and does not preclude coordination with TDOT. The presenter also discussed traffic‑calming tools such as speed cushions and solar‑powered speed signs and noted they have shown measurable reductions in speeds in other jurisdictions.
After discussion the council adopted the Safe Streets action plan by voice vote, authorizing staff to pursue federal demonstration and implementation grants under the plan.
Votes at a glance: Safe Streets action plan adoption — approved (voice vote).
