The Hillsborough County Transportation Planning Organization on Jan. 14 approved its 2026 safety performance measures and public transit agency safety-plan (PTASP) targets after staff presented data-driven recommendations and the board debated the targets’ practical value.

Connor McDonald of TPO staff walked the board through federally mandated measures — including fatalities, serious injuries and non-motorized incidents — and explained staff applied a 1% reduction factor consistent with the TPO’s long-range transportation plan. McDonald gave recommended target values, including a serious-injuries target of no more than 891, a rate target of no more than 5.55, and a non-motorized target of no more than 228.

The board heard a contrasting recommendation from Rick Fernandez, chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee, who said CAC members unanimously recommended the board not approve the targets because “this process feels like budgeting for future deaths” and the CAC found the targets lacked context and a clear connection to project impacts.

Mayor Ross urged the board to treat the aspirational goal of zero fatalities differently from annual targets, and said the annual targets can feel hollow without a clear line showing what projects or programs will deliver the change. “I don’t see a straight line,” Ross said, challenging staff to show which investments and partnerships led to target reductions.

Staff and outside agency representatives pushed back that targets are a federally required tracking tool. Heather Sobish of HART said the agency assumed a conservative 10% increase in some metrics for 2026 but would discuss aiming lower with the safety team. TPO staff said missing a target does not currently carry an automatic federal penalty; rather, targets feed into the TPO’s performance reporting and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which documents how investments relate to performance outcomes.

Board members pressed for follow-up. Staff said the TPO will present a safety effectiveness study in May to identify treatments with the best return on investment and to help board members see how combinations of engineering and programmatic actions yield measurable reductions in fatalities and serious injuries.

Council member Clendenin moved to adopt the targets; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote with no nays reported.

The board’s action adopts the 2026 targets; staff said they will continue to coordinate with law enforcement and other partners and present the May study to better connect targets to projects and investments.