HDR presents SS4A safety-action plan update identifying four priority corridors and a proposed target year

John Mart, an engineer with HDR working with Columbus City staff on the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) project, gave an in-progress update on a federally grant-funded safety-action plan that began earlier in 2025 and is expected to continue into early 2026. The study follows an eight-step grant requirement and combines community engagement with data-driven safety analysis.

HDR told the council the project identified an overrepresentation of fatalities and serious injuries among people walking and biking: "From 2017 to 2023, there have been 63 people who have died or were seriously injured on roads in the Columbus area," Mart said. The presentation cited speeding, failure to comply with traffic-control devices, distracted driving and impaired driving as recurring contributing factors.

Mart said the project team has used crash data and public engagement to identify a high-priority network and four corridors for focused study and concept-level design: Howard Boulevard; Eighth Street; the downtown area including 13th and 14th Street one-way couplets; and the Lost Creek Parkway area including 30 Third Avenue near Columbus Public High School. Mart said sidewalk gaps, multi-lane crossings, driveway conflicts and mixed uses downtown were among the issues flagged through surveys and community workshops.

The presentation described core components of the safe system approach promoted in national roadway-safety guidance, stressing multidisciplinary work across engineering, planning, enforcement, education and emergency medical services to reduce collision forces and protect vulnerable road users. Mart said the team will recommend engineering projects for major corridors and lower-cost targeted countermeasures where risk-based analysis indicates high return on investment.

Mart also said SS4A grant rules require a community to adopt a target to eliminate or substantially reduce fatalities and serious injuries. In the presentation he stated a proposed target year as "02/1950"; the project team said they expect to bring a recommended target back to council for adoption as part of the plan. HDR staff advised that the plan will come back for public and stakeholder review at the draft stage and that a safety committee (one meeting held to date) will continue to shepherd implementation and annual reporting required by the grant.

During questions, council members asked whether Columbus data had been compared to national or sister‑city norms; Mart said the team had not performed that comparison and that the grant work is focused on what Columbus can do locally. A resident, Riley Scott, asked whether the effort could include lobbying for tougher laws or penalties; Mart said legislative changes would require partners beyond the city and recommended working with advocacy groups and the Nebraska Department of Transportation where appropriate.

HDR recommended continued community engagement, technical staff coordination and leadership adoption of the final plan to meet grant requirements and to position Columbus for future SS4A implementation rounds.