Scottsdale City Council to consider federal funds for local transportation plan
By Terrance Thornton | Digital Free Press
Scottsdale City Council Tuesday, Sept. 19, is expected to consider the pursuit of federal grant dollars to provide funding to cover consultation costs of the forthcoming Strategic Transportation Safety Plan.
Found part of the Sept. 19 Scottsdale City Council consent agenda is a measure where elected leaders may accept $288,000 in grant funds from the United States Department of Transportation.
“The grant will fund consultant services to prepare the Strategic Transportation Safety Plan,” said Mark Melnychenko, Scottsdale Transportation and Streets director, in his report to City Council.
“The plan will look to define practices (both existing and new) in the city of Scottsdale to improve overall transportation safety. A comprehensive, safe systems approach utilizing the 5 E’s — engineering, evaluation, education, enforcement, and equity — will guide safety improvements for people using all modes, especially the most vulnerable users.”
Anyone can keep up to date with the nuances of Scottsdale traffic and the interpreted safety of local thoroughfares through examination of the biannual traffic volume & collision report produced by the Traffic Engineering Transportation Department.
Found part of the report is a litany of local traffic data serving to illustrate where, among other things, the majority of local collisions are occurring, where the majority of congestion is happening — in particular at what times of the day — and the type of collisions occurring.
Scottsdale City Council to consider federal funds for local transportation plan
Mr. Melnychenko says the grant program is highly competitive and Scottsdale is part of the first round of funding.
“Funds for the fiscal year SS4A grant program are awarded on a competitive basis to support planning, infrastructure, behavioral, and operational initiatives to prevent death and serious injury on roads and streets involving all roadway users…” he said. “The city of Scottsdale applied for an Action Plan Grant on Sept. 14, 2022. On Feb. 1, 2023, USDOT announced $800 million in grant awards for 511 communities through the first round of funding for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program.”
Mr. Melnychenko points out the city of Scottsdale works every day to ensure local motorists are experiencing the most safe thoroughfares as possible.
“A Gold Bicycle Friendly Community since 2011, Scottsdale has made significant efforts to create Complete Streets that improve the safety and maintain the operations of roadways, intersections, and traffic signals,” he explained. “Scottsdale’s Strategic Transportation Safety Plan will further these efforts by providing key safety corridors and current and new strategies that address safety problems along with prioritization criteria tailored to the specific needs of our city. Interactive tools, including the High Injury Network, will analyze the locations of traffic crashes that included serious injuries or deaths.”
Furthermore, Mr. Melnychenko explains key components of the developing strategic plan will have these key elements:
- Citywide safety strategies
- Community engagement
- Technologies or strategies to promote safety and equity
- Evidence-based strategies
In addition, Mr. Melnychenko reports, is strategic plan will help to establish policies to improve certain intersections throughout the community.
“The plan will establish policies to remove and replace trombone style signal heads or 8-inch signal heads throughout the city,” he said. “The plan will also solidify the city’s policy on protected left turn-phasing. ‘Left In, Left Out’ warranting criteria/policy. Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons, speed limit setting depending on road context, crash reporting methodologies, and other practices.”
