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City review of Safe Streets for All plan recommends corridor priorities, asks council to adopt reduction goal
Summary
Kimley‑Horn presented a draft Safe Streets for All (SS4A) safety action plan identifying a 10‑segment high‑injury network and recommending a formal city commitment to maintain a downward trend in fatalities (equivalent to ~50% reduction by 2035 if trend continues). Council discussed data, ALDOT and MPO coordination, and next steps for grant implementation.
Kimley‑Horn consultant Laura Beth Yates presented the draft Safe Streets for All safety action plan that city staff and a steering committee developed with public outreach and crash‑data analysis. The federally funded SS4A action‑plan grant supported the planning work; the plan identifies the city’s top 10 corridors for attention and recommends project fact sheets and prioritized interventions.
Yates said the team used five years of crash data (2019–2023) to focus on fatal and serious‑injury crashes and vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, scooter and wheelchair users). Steering‑committee votes informed corridor rankings and weighting of prioritization metrics. The plan includes policy and process recommendations, public‑engagement materials and project fact sheets for each high‑injury corridor.
The plan asks the governing body to adopt a leadership commitment: either a target date to reach zero fatalities and serious injuries or an interim commitment to maintain the current downward trend. Kimley‑Horn recommended a goal that would approximate a 50% reduction in the crash rate by 2035 if the city maintained the recent trend; the consultant suggested the council adopt the plan and the reduction goal and then pursue implementation (construction) grants as a next step.
Council members asked for clarification on the data window, the definition of a vulnerable road user, and how ALDOT and the Eastern Shore MPO were engaged. Staff said ALDOT participated in the steering committee and acknowledged high‑priority needs at some intersections (for example, the Triangle Drive/AL‑104 area) but warned of potentially large costs to fully reconstruct those locations. Councilmembers suggested the city consider the plan’s policy recommendations, coordinate with ALDOT on major intersections and pursue implementation funding for high‑priority corridors.
What’s next: Staff will accept comments, make revisions and bring a final plan and a proposed leadership commitment back for formal adoption and consideration of implementation grants.
