Council continues Safe Streets for All plan presentation; draft plan positions Bristol for future federal safety grants

The Bristol Town Council continued consideration of a draft Safe Streets for All plan after a presentation from consultants and Community Development staff, setting the matter for the council's Sept. 10 meeting where a resolution endorsing the plan may be considered.

Diane Williamson, director of community development, said the town participated in a competitive federal grant applied for by RIPTA to develop a safety action plan. Consultants from Nelson—nygaard (presenters Allison Fletcher and Kelsey Tustin) briefed the council on the plan's scope, findings and next steps.

"There's been like maybe 2,900 crashes in the community over a course of 5 years. Thankfully, none of those have led to deaths during that period," Allison Fletcher said, summarizing the crash analysis the team compiled. The consultants said roughly 54% of crashes in the dataset occurred on state-owned roads and that the plan prioritizes projects where crash trends, proximity to schools and equity indicators align.

Williamson said the plan is intended to be the town's application-ready framework for future rounds of federal Safe Streets funding: adoption of a council resolution endorsing the plan would make Bristol eligible to compete for federal implementation grants or for follow-up planning money. The consultants noted the grant effort included public outreach with pop-up events and online input; they also said other state stakeholders had been part of the planning process.

Councilors asked about project prioritization, how the plan would be updated and whether recommended projects on state roads would require coordination with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. Consultants and staff said the recommended next steps include incorporation of the plan into the town's upcoming comprehensive-plan update to ensure ongoing review, and that implementation on state-owned corridors will require DOT partnership.

Councilor Tim moved to continue the item to the Sept. 10 meeting and asked staff to prepare a draft resolution for the council's consideration. Councilor Tony seconded, and the motion passed on a unanimous voice vote.

Staff said another round of Safe Streets grant funding is expected next year and that having an adopted plan positions Bristol to apply for grants that can fund engineering, planning supplements (for example, a sidewalk gap study) or construction of prioritized safety projects.

The council will receive a draft resolution and related materials before the Sept. 10 meeting for further consideration.