St. Clair County commission approves RFQ to find consultant for Safe Streets for All grant

The St. Clair County Commission approved issuing a request for qualifications (RFQ) to select a consultant to plan and design projects under a Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grant. The approved scope instructs a consultant to review high-crash locations across county-maintained and municipal roads (state-maintained roads are excluded), propose countermeasures and identify demonstration projects for testing temporary safety interventions.

Clay Phillips, speaking in his engineering capacity during the meeting, described the consultant’s role: "This consultant will come up with a comprehensive safety plan for St. Clair County," he said, saying the consultant would identify high-crash locations and recommend countermeasures and demonstration projects. Commissioners clarified the RFQ’s limits: municipal and county roads are eligible for study and temporary demonstrations; state-maintained roads are not included.

The RFQ approval included discussion of demonstration projects — the county may include up to 10 demonstration projects in an SS4A application — and commissioners signaled interest in prioritizing locations that save the most lives. The commission approved the RFQ by voice vote and directed staff to issue it and return with consultant recommendations and proposed demonstration-project selections for future consideration.

Next step: staff will publish the RFQ and bring consultant responses and recommendations to a future meeting or work session for selection and project prioritization.