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County adopts Safe Streets action plan and approves KDOT agreement for Maple Street improvements
Summary
Finney County adopted a Safe Streets for All (SS4A) action plan and approved a supplemental KDOT agreement that sets a $546,000 KDOT funding cap for safety improvements on Maple Street; the county will cover a 10% match up to the cap and any costs above the cap.
Finney County commissioners voted June 16 to adopt the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) action plan and to approve a supplemental agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) for safety improvements on a one‑mile stretch of Maple Street.
Safe Streets adoption: Development and administrative coordinator Mackenzie Phillips asked the board to adopt Resolution 17‑2025, the SS4A action plan and a Vision Zero policy committing the county to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries. The SS4A program is a federal effort administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation; Finney County and partner jurisdictions along the U.S. 83 corridor previously received planning grants to develop the plan. The board adopted the resolution after a brief discussion; one commissioner recorded a dissenting vote but the resolution carried.
KDOT supplemental agreement for Maple Street H3R project: Phillips also presented a supplemental agreement that establishes KDOT’s maximum available funding for the FY2025 High Risk Rural Roads (H3R) project on Maple Street (Taylor Avenue to VFW Road). KDOT set a maximum cap of $546,000 for participating construction and construction‑engineering costs; county staff identified an anticipated total participating cost of $549,000 (pre‑bid estimate), which would make the county responsible for 10% of participating costs up to KDOT’s limit and 100% of any amount above KDOT’s cap (roughly $3,000 in the staff estimate). The county is responsible for non‑eligible costs (preliminary engineering and the 10% match).
Project elements and local concerns: The Maple Street H3R project includes reflective center and edge lines, retroreflective markers for roadside hazards, clearing and grubbing up to 15 feet off the edge of road, removal/relocation of fixed objects in the clear zone and paving two‑foot paved shoulders with a safety edge on both sides. Public works staff indicated they also intend to mill and overlay Maple Street to address wheel ruts. Commissioners asked about rumble strips and mailbox impacts; one commissioner expressed concern that rumble strips on rural blacktop accelerate pavement deterioration. County acting engineer C. W. Harper explained that shoulder rumble strips would be placed on the new paved shoulders (not on the centerline) and that rumble strips are more beneficial at higher speeds because crash reduction is greater where impact speeds are higher.
Fiscal effect and next steps: The county will sign the supplemental agreement to secure the KDOT funding cap and will proceed to bid and public engagement (staff said letters and a public meeting are planned to notify affected property owners and address mailbox relocation and other impacts). If bids exceed KDOT's cap, the county will be responsible for the excess. The board approved the supplemental agreement by motion.
