This week the Greenwich Dept of Public Works secured $400,000 in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a comprehensive, data-driven safety action plan aimed to improve road safety for all modes of transportation.
The funding is provided through the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant, which supports initiatives to enhance safety and help prevent deaths and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways.
As part of the safety action plan, Town-wide transportation-related data will be collected and analyzed to identify and prioritize which areas in Town need roadway safety improvements.
These improvements encompass all modes of transportation – including motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
The plan will consider a range of low-cost, high-impact strategies and adopting innovative technologies to promote safety throughout Town.
The plan will also develop a toolbox of safety improvements and countermeasures that DPW will draw from for future projects.
Creating a safety action plan will allow the Town of Greenwich to be eligible for future implementation grants.
“This funding is instrumental in making necessary upgrades to the Town’s multi-modal transportation infrastructure and improving safety for all,” said Town of Greenwich Department of Public Works Deputy Commissioner Jim Michel in a release.
The previous week the Biden-Harris administration $82.6 million in “Safe Streets and Roads for All” (SS4A) grants to 235 regional, local and Tribal communities for planning and demonstration projects to improve safety and help prevent deaths and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways.
According to a release from the US Dept of Transportation, the funds will help communities develop safety action plans, inform improvements along corridors with safety issues, use “quick-build” strategies to test out safety features such as separated bicycle lanes or curb extensions at intersections and more.
“Helping communities plan and design safer streets is a key element of USDOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy to combat the crisis of deaths on our nation’s roads. While NHTSA estimates show a fifth straight quarter of declines in roadway deaths, the fact is tens of thousands of people die each year on America’s roads, which is why President Biden’s infrastructure law includes unprecedented funding for safety improvements.”
“Whether it’s a dangerous intersection or highway, or a need for better bus and bike lanes, no one can better pinpoint a community’s safety needs than the people who actually live and work there,” said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“In the past five years, the communities we are awarding these grants to experienced nearly 14,000 roadway deaths,” Buttigieg added. “To help change that unacceptable reality, we are proud to deliver this needed funding to help them address their unique safety needs and save lives.”
A full list of the grants state by state is available HERE.