INCORPORATING SAFETY IN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING Neil Pedersen Maryland DOT August 7, 2002

TEA-21 made safety one of seven planning factors Safety has always been cited as being Maryland DOT’s number one priority However, safety has not really gotten the priority in the planning process that would truly reflect it’s #1 priority status MARYLAND BACKGROUND

Safety has been addressed at the project level and on individual facilities through traffic engineering improvements Education and enforcement efforts have largely been developed and conducted outside the transportation planning process Safety programs have not gotten the same planning attention as congestion relief MARYLAND BACKGROUND

Maryland forum held May 15, 2001 Approximately 60 people attended with representatives from federal, state, MPO and local transportation planning organizations Attendees also spanned the 3-Es of transportation -engineering, education, enforcement MARYLAND SAFETY PLANNING FORUM

Provided opportunities to: bring all the key safety and planning personnel together integrate safety factors with planning goals and performance measures further develop transportation planning process to encompass the 3Es define future process steps and develop an action plan MARYLAND SAFETY PLANNING FORUM

Establishing a list of “high accident locations” Providing access to safety data and information for all potential users Raising public awareness of travel safety issues Educating transportation professionals on safety issues ACTION ITEMS FROM SAFETY FORUM

Creating a regional/state interagency group to address safety issues Developing an inventory of safety goals across modes and developing common goals/measures Modifying process to insure relevant safety stakeholders are involved in planning efforts ACTION ITEMS FROM SAFETY FORUM

Requires top management level support, both in planning and in safety offices Safety should be included as a key performance area in DOT business plans Action plans must contain specific, time bound, measurable performance objectives that clearly define implementation responsibility IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES

A forum should be set up for key players to meet regularly to coordinate and track implementation Maryland SHA has established a Safety Council that meets monthly Need for common definitions Need for multimodal consideration of safety PROCESS ISSUES

How can we more effectively use data that are already collected? How can data/information be more effectively shared across program lines? How do we more effectively share/integrate analyses done among the program areas? Should we develop a transportation safety management system? DATA AND ANALYSIS ISSUES

How do we develop common measures of benefit/cost or cost-effectiveness? How do we build support for programs that lack political visibility/backing? In making funding decision how do we account for program interrelationships? How do we get beyond funding being based on individual federal program levels? FUNDING/PRIORITIZATION ISSUES

How should safety program managers be involved in the planning process? How do we develop a planning process together that meets all of our needs? What role should the public play in addressing safety in the planning process? How do we effectively communicate safety needs to the public and elected officials? COMMUNICATIONS ISSUES

Bicycle/pedestrian safety issues Motor carrier safety issues Transit safety, particularly related to transit operators Alcohol related programs Smart growth as it relates to transportation safety SPECIFIC ISSUES THAT THE PLANNING PROCESS NEEDS TO ADDRESS

KEY FOLLOW UP ACTIONS SINCE THE SAFETY FORUM Maryland Strategic Highway Safety Plan Drivers Pedestrians and Cyclists Trucks and Buses Highways Emergency Services Safety Program Management Safety objectives and performance measures in statewide long range plan New preventative safety program

PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS “Smooth Operator” - to address aggressive driving Bicycle safety Pedestrian safety - especially school zone safety Work zone safety

A safety planning forum provides a good opportunity to “jump start” the process of considering safety as a planning factor The forum is only the beginning of a process which needs to result in a set of specific, implementable, measurable objectives for which accountability is determined and progress is monitored CONCLUSIONS