Integrating Safety in the Rural Planning Process

Integrating Safety in the Rural Planning Process

Workshop

December 4, 2014

Technical Report

• Introduction

• Safety and Transportation Planning

• Methods for Integrating Safety in the Planning Process

• Linking Planning Documents

• Case Studies, Resources, Implementation Tool

Research Approach

• Literature and websites/web resources

• Technical Oversight Working Group– Androscoggin Valley COG

– Central Arizona Governments

– Iowa DOT

– Lake County/City Area PC

– North Central Pennsylvania RPDC

– Ohio DOT

– Piedmont Triad RPC

– Pueblo of Acoma

– Two–Rivers Ottauquechee RC

– FHWA

The Rural Safety Context

• 19 percent of the United States population lives in rural areas, but rural fatalities account for 54

percent of all fatalities*

• 18,170 out of 33,561 fatalities occurred in rural areas*

• Contributing factors: Exposure, Physical Limitations, Multimodal Facilities, Speed (crash severity), Roadway Geometry

* 2012 Data

Role of RPOs

• Rural transportation planning organizations (RPOs)

– Assist state (DOTs) and work with the public and local officials to understand the transportation needs for nonmetropolitan areas

BEFORE

AFTER

RPO Planning Processes

• Develop a regional transportation plan

• Provide input into the statewide plan

• Coordinate the development of other planning documents

Data Collection and Analysis

Multidisciplinary Coordination and Input

Development of Goals and Objectives

Identification of Performance Measures and Targets

Project Prioritization and Programming

Monitoring and Evaluation

Public Involvement and Outreach

Planning Tasks

Project Objective

SAFETYData Collection and Analysis

Multidisciplinary Coordination and Input

Development of Goals and Objectives

Identification of Performance Measures and Targets

Project Prioritization and Programming

Monitoring and Evaluation

Public Involvement and Outreach

Planning Tasks

RPO Planners Role

• Forum for identifying regional priorities

• Conduct public involvement

• Connection to elected officials

• Lead or support long range planning processes

• Staff expertise

• Boots on the ground

• Champions

Exercise: How are you addressing safety?

• Put a dot on the flip chart paper that corresponds with the activities you complete in your regular planning process where you feel safety IS included or addressed.

Methods for Integrating Safety in the Transportation Planning Process

Public Involvement/Outreach

Public Involvement and Outreach

Solicit input to inform planning decisions

• Utilize available public involvement tools to collect information on transportation safety issues and needs

Safety IntegrationPlanning Task

Public Involvement Methods

• Surveys and Comment Cards

• Open Houses

• Outreach Materials

– Websites

– Newsletters

Potential Safety Survey/Comment Card Questions

• In what specific areas is transportation safety a concern (i.e., walking, biking, intersections, rail crossings)?

• What are your ideas for safety solutions?

• What specific locations or roadways do you perceive as having a safety problem?

Exercise: Defining Safety

At a regional meeting, such as a transportation advisory committee

meeting, it may be beneficial to schedule time in the agenda to ask: What does

transportation safety mean to you?

Exercise: Defining Safety

• Safety – “Reducing fatalities, serious injuries, and economic loss resulting from crashes on the transportation system”

Multidisciplinary Coordination

Multidisciplinary Coordination

Using committees to inform planning decisions

• Discuss safety at committee meetings

• Include traditional/non-traditional safety stakeholders on committees

• Host safety workshops

Safety IntegrationPlanning Task

Safety Stakeholders

• Enforcement

– Local, State Police

• Emergency Response

– Hospital Staff, EMTs, Nurses, Doctors, Administrators

• Educators

– Teachers, Student Advisory Groups

• Engineers

Committee Meetings

• Discuss safety topics with existing committees

–Policy –Technical

–Modal/Special Interest –Citizens

Committee Meetings

• Agenda Ideas– Presentation on the SHSP

– Program and fund transportation safety projects

– Present/review regional crash data

– Annual review of regional high-crash locations

– Overview of road safety audits and solicit committee interest

– Planning for a regional safety workshop

Safety Committees – Iowa MDSTs

• MPOs and RPOs are intended to have a multidisciplinary safety team

• Participants

– Planners, engineers, law enforcement, emergency response, incident response, Iowa DOT central and district staff, and Iowa State University

Safety Committees – Iowa MDSTs

• Agenda Items

– Facilitated safety discussions, safety audits, crash analysis workshops, and construction zone management

• All applicable activities are incorporated into RPO/MPO planning and programming

Safety Workshops or Summits

• Engage stakeholders specifically on safety issues

– Education Focused

– Working Meetings

Peer Experience

• Multidiscipinary coordination

• Doug Plachinski, Berkshire RPC (MA)

Data Collection and Analysis

Data Collection and Analysis

Identify regional trends and issues

• Collect and analyze safety data (crash, volume, roadway) to identify goals, objectives, and project/program priorities.

Safety IntegrationPlanning Task

Identify and Access Available Data

• State crash/roadway database

• Regional/local crash database

• Generated Crash Reports

• Local law enforcement

• LTAP/TTAP

• Local safety agencies/ organizations (MADD)

• Safety Planning Documents

• Qualitative data (surveys)

Data RetrievalCrash Analysis Tool

Data Retrieval

Each year, the California DOT (Caltrans) prepares an Annual Report of Fatal and Injury Motor Vehicle Traffic Collisions from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS),

providing summaries by jurisdiction, type of crash, contributing factors, and other characteristics to

all the RTPOs.

Generated Reports

Analyze Data

• High Crash Locations and Crash Clusters

• Spatial Analysis

• Crash Frequency

• Trend Analysis

• Crash rates

• Crash Types and Contributing Factors

• Systemic Analysis

• Network Screening

Analyze Data

Piedmont Triad Regional Council Speed Mgmt Study

County Level Analysis – Frequency tables using crash data variables were used to identify countywide trends and general crash factors associated with speeding-related crashes.

Network Screening – Identified routes where severe and/or speeding-related crashes are over represented compared with other similar routes.

Spatial Analysis – GIS was used to rank schools by severe and speeding-related crashes, and to rank road sections with crashes on/near curves.

Peer Experience

• Data and analysis

• Jeannette Wierzbicki, Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA)

Goals and Objectives

Goals and Objectives

Desired transportation outcomes and methods for

achievement

• Utilize public and stakeholder input, the results of data analysis, and information in other plans to develop safety goals and objectives in planning documents

Safety IntegrationPlanning Task

Use Public and Stakeholder Input

Goal: Improve Pedestrian Safety

Objective: Complete missing segments of sidewalks along major roads.

Use Data

Goal: Reduce fatalities and major injuries that result from motor vehicle crashes.

Goal: Reduce fatalities and serious injuries that result from motor vehicle crashes.

Objectives: • Implement findings from road-safety

audits at the top intersections or road segments with high numbers of rear-end crashes.

• Implement rear-end crash reduction strategies as identified by the DOT.

Review Other Planning Documents

• Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP)

• Highway Safety Plan (HSP)

• Local Comprehensive Plan

• State/MPO LRTPs

• State/MPO Modal Plans– Bicycle/Pedestrian

– Freight

– Transit

Performance Measures and Targets

Performance Measures and Targets

Tool to track and evaluate progress towards

transportation goals

• Identify performance measures and targets to track and evaluate progress toward the safety goals, objectives, programs, and/or projects.

Safety IntegrationPlanning Task

Match Performance Measures to Goals and Objectives

Goal: Safe Transportation System

Performance Measure: Number of fatalities and serious injuries

Goal: Improve Bicycle Safety

Performance Measure: Number of bicycle fatalities

Exercise: Goal > Objective > Measure

• In groups of 2 or 3, discuss whether your region’s plan includes safety as a goal.

• Do you have objectives? (They may be called something else, but they might describe actions to achieve the goal). What are they? If your plan doesn’t identify objectives, what could one or two of them be?

• What is the expected outcome from pursuing those objectives? How do you measure it?

Exercise: Goal > Objective > Measure

• Lincoln Trail Area Development District (KY)• Regional Concept Plan included safety goal area• Objectives address corridor identification, developing

transportation projects that improve safety, and facilitating completion of safety-related projects.

• Several measures track movement for each objective: number of roadways with over 500 collisions per year, percent of dangerous corridors with identified countermeasures, number of projects on dangerous corridors included in the Kentucky Highway Plan.

Identify Data to Establish Performance

Annual data

Average data

Performance Measures:- Number of fatalities- Number of serious injuries

Performance Measure:-Number of intersection fatalities

Set Performance Targets

Goal: Improve Transportation Safety

Performance Measure: Number of fatalities

Optional Performance Targets: Reduce fatalities 3.4% per year to align with the SHSP goal of halving fatalities by 2030.

Reduce fatalities from 73 in 2010 to 44 in 2020

Project Prioritization and Programming

Project Prioritization and Programming

Processes used to select and prioritize

transportation projects

• Incorporate safety into transportation project decisions

• Prioritize safety specific projects

Safety IntegrationPlanning Task

Incorporating Safety into all TIP Projects• Qualitative Evaluation Criteria

– Safety considerations refer back to the goals and objectives set in the regional planning process

Fresno COG Scoring Template

Incorporating Safety into all TIP Projects

• Quantitative Evaluation Criteria

– Safety criteria are developed based on data analysis, such as crash frequencies, rates, systemic

Southeast Iowa RPC

Surface Transportation Program

Safety Criteria

Safety score is assessed by comparing crash rates on the proposed facility with state

rates and what proportion of the project cost will go toward

safety improvements.

Safety Specific Projects

• Coordinate with DOT to understand HSIP project prioritization

• Identify low-cost countermeasures

• Conduct road safety audits

Peer Experience

• Project Prioritization

• Dan Landon, Nevada County Transportation Commission

Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and Evaluation

Process to determine effectiveness of transportation

programs/projects

• Routinely monitor and track safety performance to evaluate progress towards meeting performance measures and targets.

Safety IntegrationPlanning Task

Basic Monitoring and Evaluation Process

• Baseline Data

• Establish Performance Outcomes

• Interpret Results

• Allocate Resources

• Regularly Review Progress

Tracking Tools

Goal – Reduce Intersection Crashes

Performance Measure – Number of Fatalities and Serious Injuries at Intersections

Objectives Implementation Status

Improve Crash Data and accuracy and usability.

Conduct local training on road safety audits and develop a road safety audit program.

Pursue a local policy for the consideration of round-abouts at local intersections.

Pursue traffic calming strategies at intersection where appropriate.

Sample output tracking table

Tracking Tools

South Central PDC (LA)

Tracking Tools

Piedmont Triad RPO (NC)

Planning Area Worksheets and Implementation Plan

Developing a Safety Plan

51

Establish Multidisciplinary Committee

Review Crash Data and Conduct Analysis

Establish Safety Goal

Identify Emphasis (Goal) Areas

Emphasis Area 1 Emphasis Area 2 Emphasis Area 3

Develop Safety Objectives and Strategies

Develop Safety Performance Measures

Safety Plan

Monitor and Evaluate

Identify Safety Programs and Projects

Emphasis Area 4

Public Involvement

Public Involvement

Case Studies

• Multidisciplinary Coordination

– Iowa MDSTs

• Public and Stakeholder Engagement

– Highway Safety Forums in Vermont

• Project Prioritization

– Regional PDC’s in Virginia

• Data, Analysis, and Programming

– North Central PA RPDC Safety Study

Resources

• Transportation Planning Processes

• Transportation Safety Planning

• Federal Safety and Planning Websites

• Data and Analysis

• Proven Countermeasures

• SHSP Guidance

• Performance Measures

• Project Prioritization

• RPO Transportation Planning Documents/ Safety Studies

• Planning/Policy Manuals

Contact Information

Rosemarie Anderson

FHWA Office of Safety Programs

202-366-5007

rosemarie.anderson@dot.gov

Exercise: New Year’s Resolution

Identify 1 – 2 specific actions you want to add to your work plan or processes.