Shawnee County unveils safety action plan that prioritizes roadway departures and intersection improvements

Shawnee County’s director of public works presented a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan Dec. 18 that county staff say will underpin applications for Safe Streets for All implementation grants and guide years of safety projects on county-maintained roads.

Courtney House told the commissioners the plan covers county roads outside Topeka city limits and uses 11 years of crash data. “Death and serious injuries are unacceptable,” House said, framing a safe-system approach that treats serious injuries and fatalities as avoidable and calls for shared responsibility among designers, emergency responders, law enforcement, school districts and the public.

Key findings: House said the county recorded roughly 9,300 crashes over 11 years outside Topeka, including 84 fatal crashes and 235 serious-injury crashes; off-system crashes account for about 58–60% of county crashes. She highlighted that certain crash types carry disproportionate severity: rail crossing crashes were especially deadly in the period reviewed, and pedestrian- and pedacycle-involved crashes had high fatal/serious rates. Of the 319 fatal/serious-injury crashes House emphasized in the plan, 110 involved other motor vehicles and 87 involved fixed objects; most fixed-object and overturning crashes were nonintersection roadway departures.

Based on crash analysis and community input (about 200 survey responses and public meetings), the safety task force prioritized three primary emphasis areas: roadway departures, intersections and unrestrained occupants, with secondary attention to alcohol-and-drug-related crashes, vulnerable road users, distracted driving and speed. House described low- and mid-cost countermeasures with effectiveness scores — examples include wider (6-inch) pavement markings, two-foot paved shoulders, access management, enhanced stop signs and rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFBs) — and noted the county plans to buy a new paint truck to expand stripe work.

Project recommendations highlighted in the plan include Auburn Road (between K-4 and the city of Auburn), Northwest Rochester Road (Menager to 46th), 53rd Street (Auburn to Burlingame), SE 37th Street (Croco to Shawnee Heights Road), NE 35th Street (US 75 to Topeka Boulevard), Southwest Gage Boulevard (city limits to 49th), US 75 & 62nd Street, US 48 (Shawnee Heights Road), and targeted improvements on Topeka Boulevard for vulnerable road users. House said priority-setting resulted from crash data and public input, not her office’s unilateral decisions; Auburn Road emerged as a frequent public concern.

Commissioners asked about the effectiveness of past changes such as roundabouts and about coordination with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) on state-system corridors (for example, the US 75/62nd corridor). House said local improvements will require collaboration with KDOT on state highways and that some measures (rumble strips, for instance) carry trade-offs including noise and maintenance concerns. She also said SS4A implementation funds can only be requested for the plan’s recommended projects but noted other federal programs may suit smaller pedestrian projects.

House closed by saying the CSAP provides a guide for where to apply safety improvements and which countermeasures are likely to produce the most benefit. Commissioners did not take formal action on the plan at the work session.