Draft county road safety action plan recommends targeted engineering and engagement

Consultants from Moore Engineering and Stonebrook presented a draft county road safety action plan that combines crash-data analysis and public engagement to identify safety projects across Beltrami County. Jed Nordine (Moore Engineering) walked the board through the project's approach; Lauren Victor summarized engagement results, and Kristen Foster (Stonebrook) described the safety-analysis and project selection process.

Lauren said engagement included 82 attendees at a winter carnival, 185 online survey responses and roughly 450 map comments; the team also ran five focus groups covering active transportation, EMS/transit/freight, aging/disabled populations, recreational off-road users and general safety. Foster told the board that "one of the requirements of the federal grant that Beltrami County received is that we do this data driven safety analysis," and the draft plan pairs that analysis with a menu of engineering and behavioral strategies. The consultants said many recommended projects qualify for outside grant funding and that the draft final plan and project sheets will be published for board review ahead of a planned adoption this fall.

Commissioners raised design questions — in particular roundabout crosswalk geometry and the merits of center buffers — and asked that staff continue to submit local concerns not captured in crash statistics for separate consideration. No adoption or vote occurred at the work session; consultants sought board feedback and offered to return with a draft for formal adoption later in the year.