Assessment of Local Road Safety Funding, Training, and Technical Assistance

5.0 Summary

Local roads provide critical connections that allow people and goods to move about communities, neighborhoods, and towns. Local road safety programs save lives by reducing fatalities and serious injuries on local roads. States are focused on improving safety on a systemwide level and consider local roadways another opportunity to achieve the goals and objectives identified in SHSPs.

Addressing local road safety issues requires knowledge of various funding mechanisms, access to essential traffic safety data, traffic engineering and safety expertise, and partnerships among and between a wide array of local elected officials, planners, engineers, and other decision-makers. Realizing the complexities of local road safety, many State DOTs offer support in the form of information, training, technical assistance, and project implementation to agencies to assist with the local road safety projects. The assessment revealed a variety of efforts State DOTs have implemented to improve local road safety.

The noteworthy practices documented in this report serve as a menu of options for DOTs and local agencies to consider when enhancing local road safety. The Local Road Safety Checklist included in Appendix C is designed to provide DOTs and LTAP centers with lists of questions to use to identify opportunities to enhance or initiate a local road safety program. While the list is not designed for local agencies, it may provide some considerations for local agencies when faced with questions regarding the resources and opportunities provided by DOTs and LTAPs to assist with local road safety initiatives.

DOTs are in a unique position to partner with LTAPs, MPOs, and other entities to provide the support necessary for local agencies to develop and implement programs and projects to save lives on local roadways across the nation. The level of support needed will vary across States and depend on the extent of the local road safety problem, the expertise of local agencies within the State, and resources available for a DOT to provide this support.

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