NVCOG staff on Oct. 24 presented a data-driven regional Safety Action Plan that identifies crash hot spots and recommends Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) proven countermeasures, including roundabouts, medians and pedestrian refuge islands.

Anthony Lugano, transportation planner at NVCOG, said staff analyzed police crash reports from Jan. 2022 through Dec. 2024. “We looked at all the crashes, all 36,000 that happened between January 2022 and December 2024,” Lugano said, and noted the analysis focused on serious and fatal crashes. He reported about 592 serious and fatal crashes during that period and said roughly 9,686 people were involved in those severe incidents. “Of those, 107 motorists were killed and 29 non motorists were killed,” he said.

Findings and focus: NVCOG staff said about 70% of severe crashes occurred outside intersections, many on straight roadway segments; about 30% were intersection-related and were predominantly T and four-way intersections. Half of serious/fatal crashes were on local roads, 38% on state routes and 12% on U.S. routes or interstates. Reported contributing factors included lane departures, veering off roadways, reckless or distracted driving; speed was reported in about a third of crashes though speeding status was unknown in many records.

Nicole (surname not provided) summarized 15 municipal interviews staff conducted as part of the plan. Speeding was raised as a concern in every interview; municipal staff also cited e-bike behavior and local problem intersections. Nicole said the interviews help identify problem sites that do not appear strongly in crash data but are known locally to be hazardous.

NVCOG senior planner Kate Pippa reviewed FHWA’s proven countermeasures and their applicability to the region. Countermeasures recommended for the region included roundabouts, optimized yellow-light timing, high-friction surface treatments to reduce roadway departures, medians and pedestrian refuge islands, rectangular rapid-flashing beacons and road diets. “By integrating these proven strategies into our plans…we can make meaningful progress toward our safety goals,” she said.

The plan will be drafted for TTAC review in December; NVCOG staff said projects identified by the plan will be prioritized for funding opportunities including the Safe Streets and Roads for All program. A roundabout “lunch-and-learn” for municipal staff and elected officials is scheduled for Nov. 12 with Scott Bushey of CTDOT as presenter.

Ending: NVCOG said the safety plan is designed to identify near-term projects and to support grant applications; staff offered to provide town-level analyses on request and to follow up with local officials on proposed solutions for their communities.