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Clay County adopts Vision Zero safety plan to pursue federal SS4A grants
Summary
The Clay County Board on Feb. 24 adopted a Vision Zero resolution and an accompanying Safe Streets for All safety action plan intended to make the county eligible for federal SS4A implementation grants. Consultants flagged DUI‑related and nighttime crashes concentrated on a three‑road triangle and recommended policy and project countermeasures.
Clay County commissioners voted Feb. 24 to adopt a Vision Zero resolution and a comprehensive safety action plan developed by consultants from Foresight Group, a step county staff said is required to pursue federal Safe Streets for All (SS4A) implementation grants.
The action plan compiles five years of local crash data, identifies high‑crash corridors concentrated around a triangle of US 17, US 21 and SR 16, and recommends a mix of projects, enforcement and policy changes. Consultants Eric Stevens and Doug Stoner told the board the plan is a prerequisite for competing for federal implementation awards and that typical implementation grants average in the low‑ten‑million dollar range.
“Vision Zero is a noble goal to get to zero,” Doug Stoner said, adding that the plan focuses on a three‑legged approach — engineering, enforcement and education — and pairs short, medium and long‑term countermeasures with policy changes staff can pursue incrementally.
Sheriff (name on file) told commissioners the department is already active in traffic enforcement: deputies conducted “almost 40,000 traffic stops” last year, the sheriff said, and county crash records show roughly 4,300 crashes in 2025 and about two dozen fatalities in the same period. The sheriff said her office participated on the plan’s stakeholder committee and described tactic choices — such as saturations rather than always announcing checkpoints — used locally to reduce impaired‑driving risks.
Commissioners pressed consultants on two practical points: how the county can secure cooperation from Florida Department of Transportation on improvements to state‑owned roads in the identified triangle, and how much local match or staff capacity will be needed. Foresight advised that a data‑driven plan positions the county to make specific requests to FDOT and improves competitive standing in grant review.
Adopting the plan does not itself change county code, staff emphasized; the document contains a menu of policy “suggestions” and countermeasures the county can evaluate and implement separately. Staff and the consultants said adoption simply creates an approved, grant‑ready roadmap the county can submit when the federal notice of funding availability is released this spring.
Next steps for the board include working with county staff to prioritize projects in the plan for grant applications and to examine any recommended ordinance changes on a case‑by‑case basis. The board voted to adopt the resolution and the plan.
The plan and the consultant report are now part of the county record; staff said they will return with implementation priorities and, where required, separate ordinance or code changes for future votes.
