Mansfield council adopts Safe Streets, Active Transportation and ADA transition plan

MANSFIELD, Texas — The Mansfield City Council unanimously adopted a citywide Active Transportation and Safety Plan on Feb. 9 that staff said was produced under a Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant and will guide future pedestrian and bicycle projects and improve road safety.

Raymond (city staff) told council the contract with Kimley-Horn will deliver three related documents: an active-transportation plan (sidewalks, trails and side paths), a safety action plan including a high-injury network, and an ADA transition plan. Monica Lucia of Kimley-Horn summarized the work: the project team used an advisory committee, public outreach events and data analysis to prioritize projects and actions.

Lucia said the proposed future pedestrian network amounts to about 458.5 miles of pedestrian facilities and the bicycle network about 129 miles of bicycle facilities; the safety analysis identifies a high-injury network that is roughly 7.4% of the road mileage but accounts for 85.7% of the city's fatalities, making that a priority for early interventions.

The plan includes a list of the top-scoring 23 projects drawn from the active-transportation, ADA and safety audits and an action matrix of 22 actions that assign partners, time frames and funding approaches to recommended projects. Council voted 7–0 to adopt the plan and to proceed with the implementation steps outlined by staff.

Council and staff said adopting the plan will strengthen eligibility for future federal competitive grants and help the city prioritize safety-related projects.

Provenance: Topic introduced SEG 890; presentation and vote concluded SEG 1096.