Town and county direct staff to prepare joint Safe Streets for All implementation grant application

Brian Schilling, property coordinator for the Town of Jackson, updated the joint meeting on the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) planning grant and potential implementation grant application.

Schilling said the town and county previously received a $600,000 SS4A planning grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to prepare a comprehensive safety action plan and related deliverables (an engineering standards manual and an updated community streets plan). The planning deliverable will make the jurisdictions eligible to apply for implementation funding. Schilling said a draft safety action plan would be released for review in the coming weeks and that elected boards are scheduled to consider adoption in June.

Timing and eligibility: staff told elected members the FY‑25 SS4A Notice of Funding Opportunity was released March 28, with a June 26 application deadline. For an implementation grant the NOFO requires that an applicant have an adopted safety action plan at least two weeks before the implementation application; staff said an adopted plan at the June joint meeting would meet that requirement.

Project options and criteria: consultants and staff reviewed candidate activities. The SS4A program accepts three main categories: supplemental planning (road safety audits, additional engagement), demonstration projects (temporary or quick‑build tests), and implementation projects (permanent roadway, intersection or programmatic improvements). Staff noted the program’s high‑injury network analysis shows most of the worst crash locations are on the state network; local implementation candidates clustered in the town.

Candidate recommendations discussed included: - A2: an education program expansion (working with local partners on school and community safety education); - A5: before‑and‑after data collection tied to any implemented project; - B1: South Park Loop Road improvements (from Highway 89 West to Middle School Road); - B2: West Snow King Avenue corridor improvements (including prior demonstration work such as Scott Lane/Maple Way designs); - B4: West Pearl improvements (ranked high on the high‑injury network but less mature as a local project candidate); - B5: systemic intersection improvements across town/county.

Staff said projects that build on prior local planning or are ready for implementation score better; projects on state‑owned corridors may require additional coordination and are more complicated to advance within the current grant timeline.

Board action: Councilman Speer moved and a member seconded "to direct staff to proceed with preparing a grant application for implementation funding, including the following: B1, B2, and the planning/demonstration options A2 and A5." The town council voted and the motion passed unanimously. The county commission then adopted a substantially identical motion; that motion also carried unanimously.

Staff cautioned the boards that award decisions come months after submission and that, if awarded, project agreements would likely be signed in 2026 with implementation in subsequent years; staff recommended diversifying the grant ask (mixing implementation with demonstration and planning activities) to increase chances of funding. Consultants from Alta also advised that expanding education programs and tying projects to existing local programs tends to score well.

Next steps: staff will prepare the SS4A implementation application for submission by the June 26 deadline, pursue any required coordination for projects on non‑local roads, and return to the boards as the draft application and schedule are finalized.