Roughly 600 people die and more than 2,600 people are seriously injured in traffic crashes in the 20+ county Atlanta metropolitan region every year. Traffic deaths and serious injuries are tragic for families, and have detrimental economic and equity impact, as well. The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) recognized the need to take action and enlisted VHB to help develop the first Regional Safety Strategy (RSS) as a comprehensive safety roadmap to help ARC guide investment in safe transportation systems and improve safety outcomes through countermeasures for all modes.
Adoption of the RSS this month comes at a key time of increased grant funding for safe streets and will help position metropolitan transportation planning agencies, regional jurisdictions, and community organizations to be first in line for opportunity.
The RSS’s goal is lofty: zero deaths and serious injuries on public roads in metro Atlanta. VHB’s proactive, data-informed approach to the RSS emphasized research and predictive modeling. The RSS shifts the safety mindset from focusing only on deaths or injuries at specific locations to looking more broadly at multiple risk factors. This risk-based approach still incorporates crash data but also helps predict places where crashes are likely to occur so transportation agencies and communities can be proactive and address prevalent crash types.
“We all want and deserve safer roads. But this won’t happen overnight. It will require making strategic, data-informed decisions and investments to reduce the risks for all of us, whether you are driving, riding, walking, or bicycling,” said John Orr, ARC’s Managing Director of Transportation Planning.
VHB is a national leader in this Safe Systems Approach to transportation safety, having recently partnered with U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration to produce the Primer on Safe System Approach for Pedestrians and Bicyclists, as well as a Safe System Approach Manual for Intersections Guide.
Research and analysis for the RSS focused on the most severe crashes in the Atlanta metro region and looked closely at underlying contributing factors using four areas of emphasis: roadway departure, pedestrians, bicyclists, and intersections. VHB developed a web-based Risk Map that allows local municipalities to identify specific locations, like high-risk intersections and corridors, based on the presence of risk factors. The RSS then illustrates a variety of safety improvements that could be incorporated to reduce risk and save lives. The RSS also includes a Project and Program Evaluation Matrix that allows the region to look back, evaluate, and improve to incorporate a more rigorous safety approach at the local level.
“The ARC Regional Safety Plan comes at a time of growth in mobility and transit expansion in Atlanta,” said Frank Gross, PhD, PE, VHB Safety Practice Leader. “We are already incorporating it into transportation planning for counties throughout the region, as well as the City of Atlanta’s Vision Zero Action Plan. It’s a long-range planning tool that will have an impact for many years to come.”
VHB is helping cities across the U.S. prepare and secure grants and funds from sources like the Infrastructure Investments & Jobs Act (IIJA) that will help them invest in the future, developing the critical infrastructure that will lay the foundation for improved safety and economic growth.
Contact Frank to learn more about how VHB’s national safety experience and local knowledge helps communities make an impact in transportation safety improvements.
