PRESENTER: Presenter
Elizabeth Dupont, Transportation Planner
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SUBJECT: Title
Presentation and update on the Street Safety Action Plan progress and Vision Zero.
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation and Capital Improvements
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City of New Braunfels Street Safety Action Plan was adopted by City Council in March 2024 as part of on-going efforts to improve safety for all road users and achieve the goal of zero traffic fatalities by 2040. This is part of the global Vision Zero movement, to tackle the various factors that effect a road safety, including policy, design, enforcement, and education.
As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) created the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program to facilitate planning, project development, and implementation of projects that address locations with high safety concerns or inadequate pedestrian infrastructure. To access this funding, an organization needed to create a plan that analyzed and identified areas of concern and included public involvement to determine what factors receive the highest priority. The Street Safety Action Plan was developed in 2023 to marry the existing crash history and data with community priorities to generate a road network safety analysis that was used to identify high-priority road segments and intersections for the City to address and advocate for with our partners at TxDOT.
The City was able to use the plan to acquire funds to supplement the budget for the ADA Transition Plan and has submitted two projects to the 2025 round of SS4A to receive funds towards construction. The plan was also used to justify and support the submission of projects to the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization for inclusion and funding through the 2027-2030 Transportation Improvement Plan, and previously to allocate City funds towards high-impact projects.
This presentation update to City Council will cover what projects have been implemented and completed, and what other programs are in development or underway. It will also briefly address our recent annual crash history trends.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☐Economic Mobility ☒Enhanced Connectivity ☐Community Identity
☐Organizational Excellence ☒Community Well-Being ☐N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A