Thursday, May 2, 2024
Coryell County held a public meeting on Thursday, April 4 to discuss the development of its plan to help improve roads to reduce fatalities and serious injuries.
After collecting a list of road concerns from a safety analysis and input from the public, the county was able to share the various projects that will be included in the final safety action plan.
For the safety analysis, Hannah Jordan with Natural Resources Solutions, a consulting firm in Austin helping the county develop the plan, said they reviewed several historical crashes to determine what is causing the majority of serious injuries or fatalities in the county.
After reviewing 3,656 traffic incidents between January 2018 to December 2021, Jordan said the top causes of fatal crashes were caused by driver inattention and driving under the influence.
“Because the serious injuries and fatal crashes are being caused by things like driver inattention and driving under the influence, that's not something that's location specific where we can say ‘if we put this here, it will solve this problem,” Jordan said. “But it is something that we can solve through educational campaigns, outreach, and just making sure people are aware of these dangers.”
Results from a public survey launched in January also identified residents’ top safety concerns regarding roads and other areas of transportation. The survey also included a map of Coryell County where citizens can place points on streets and highways that they deem unsafe.
According to the survey, the top safety concerns include poor road conditions, lack of sidewalks, and dangerous intersections. Although road conditions were a top concern, Jordan said the grant might not cover projects to repair roads unless it’s a major safety concern.
The survey, which closed on Feb. 29, received a total of 318 responses and 160 points on the map.
Jordan shared several projects that will be included in the safety action plan, such as a crosswalk and sidewalk audit that will improve existing crosswalks and sidewalks as well as determine where additional ones are needed.
Other projects include:
The safety action plan is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program that provides grants to local, regional, and Tribal communities for implementation, planning, and demonstration of these action plans. The county is currently working toward the implementation grant where they can execute the projects and strategies identified in the safety action plan.
“We have to have an approved safety action plan to submit to the federal government and then we apply for grant funding to accomplish the objectives and the projects that are identified in that safety action plan,” Coryell County Judge Miller said.
For more information about the safety action plan, visit coryell-county-sap.com.
