City of Idaho Falls awarded federal grant aimed at improving road and pedestrian safety
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IDAHO FALLS — The City of Idaho Falls is taking its first steps toward creating a new comprehensive safety action plan after it was awarded a $400,000 federal grant aimed at making streets safer for all.
The grant is from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, SS4A, which aims to address road safety issues and reduce traffic deaths, according to its website.
DOT’s website states that on average, 40,000 people die annually in traffic-related incidents.
Idaho Falls is one of five recipients in Idaho to be awarded the grant, and is one of three recipients to begin developing a safety action plan.
Chris Canfield, assistant director for Idaho Falls Public Works, told EastIdahoNews.com that a comprehensive safety action plan focuses on improving road safety and reducing serious crashes within the city.
The total cost for developing the action plan is $500,000, with the city paying the remaining balance from the grant.
Canfield said the city has taken steps over the years to improve safety through audits on 17th Street and portions of Capital Avenue and South Boulevard. These projects included installing rapid-flashing beacons at pedestrian crossings and improving lighting at intersections.
This was the case after a fatal pedestrian accident eight years ago between First and Elva Streets.
Looking at a geographic information system map that shows crash data involving pedestrian and vehicle accidents, and the severity of the accidents.
“There’ll be a study done to say we’re seeing the majority of our accidents on certain routes, like 17th Street, Hitt Road and Sunnyside Road,” Canfield said. “Typically, the higher volume routes have more accident crashes and require more attention.”
Canfield said that the majority of the dots that signal a crash or accident are in between intersections of the major arterial streets.
While the city was notified that it would be awarded the grant, the process of developing the safety action plan is still a way off.
When it’s time to start creating the plan, the city will engage the community and stakeholders in the process.
“It’s a collaborative effort from planners, engineers, enforcement, education, outreach, all that stuff, anything we can do to either learn what we can do better or implement things that we know, (or) that we can apply for,” Canfield said.