Speaking

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is an investment in infrastructure created with a focus on making the U.S. economy more sustainable, resilient, and equitable. The IIJA supports local initiatives to prevent transportation-related death and serious injury on roads and streets, commonly referred to as “Vision Zero” or “Toward Zero Deaths.” With a total of $5 billion eligible over a five-year period, these funds are for comprehensive safety action plans and infrastructure projects identified in a comprehensive safety action plan.

The first round of grant applications will occur in Summer 2022, but by the time of this conference, lessons learned from the first round will be available to inform applications moving forward. It will be important to set MPOs, local agencies and Tribal Governments up for success if interested in applying for a grant to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.

To develop a successful Vision Zero plan, several elements need to be considered and addressed. This includes leadership, agency culture, agency-to-agency collaboration, agency-to-stakeholder collaboration, public support, data collection and availability, and supporting policies. An assessment can help an agency understand where they are in respect to each of these critical elements, what the challenges will be, and specific actions they can take to develop a successful Vision Zero planning effort.

B&N will provide the steps and educate local governments and MPOs on how they can apply for these grant funds for the 2023 fiscal year and on best practices for self-assessment and implementation. 

In 2020, people drove significantly less because of the pandemic, yet the number of people involved in fatal transportation crashes rose eight percent since 2019 to over 42,000. Even prior to 2020, transportation-related fatalities consistently averaged about 35,000 - that’s 35,000 more than the acceptable number of zero. Traffic crashes take people away without notice, but what makes them even worse is they can be prevented.

The new Secretary of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration continues to place emphasis on equity, speed, safe multimodal options, distraction, and other challenges that impede progress toward zero roadway deaths. To support this focus and provide directions to transportation agencies, FHWA is promoting a Safe System Approach (SSA). The purpose is to re-frame transportation policies and priorities, culture, and coordination efforts to create safe spaces for all road users, first and foremost.

Planners, Engineers, and Designers all have a role to play when implementing the SSA at their agencies. This presentation will highlight how to address safe road users, safe vehicles, safe speed, safe roads, and post-crash care during planning and programming. More specifically, it will explore:

• What is a safe system?
• What are the benefits and challenges?
• What is the Planner’s/Designer’s/Engineer’s role in a Safe System Approach?
• Lessons learned and steps you can take at your agency to get started.