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Monte Vista staff present Safe Streets action plan to prioritize sidewalks, school routes and grant readiness
Summary
City staff and consultants outlined an FHWA-backed Safe Streets action plan that will use crash data and a steering committee to prioritize safety projects, prepare grant-ready designs and run public engagement starting in March; the plan is a planning step, not a construction commitment.
City planning staff and consultants presented an action-plan phase of a Federal Highway Administration grant intended to help Monte Vista prioritize streets and safety improvements and position the city for future implementation grants.
The presenter said the action-plan phase evaluates crash history (consultants have five years of crash data), identifies high-priority streets and school routes, and creates a framework for short-, medium- and long-term projects. A steering committee that will include two Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) members and local public-safety staff is expected to guide project priorities. Public workshops and online engagement — including tools for mapping and surveys — are planned, with a first stakeholder meeting anticipated in March.
Staff emphasized that the action plan does not itself fund construction. Rather, it establishes the plan and data necessary to apply for implementation grants such as Safe Routes to School, SS4A and related DOT funding. The presenter said many of the available grants have low or no local match: Safe Routes to School has a 0% match and SS4A requires a 10% match, improving feasibility for smaller local projects.
Practical next steps include assembling the steering committee, public engagement events, data collection with new traffic counters funded by the grant, and performance tracking (accident rates, speed changes and pedestrian behavior) to measure impact after projects are implemented. Staff invited council participation in outreach and stressed the need for community input to ensure the plan reflects local priorities.
