Title
Comprehensive Roadway Safety Overview
Description
This report provides the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee with an update on the Street Transportation Department’s efforts related to comprehensive roadway safety, including current and potential future practices, procedures, and projects to address roadway safety concerns within the City of Phoenix. This report is provided for discussion and possible action related to the expenditure of up to $6 million, comprised of Transportation 2050 (T2050) and General Fund sources, to address comprehensive roadway safety. In addition, Streets also recommends five additional positions funded by Arizona Highway User Revenue to manage the development of a Roadway Safety Action Plan and to implement high-priority Roadway Safety Projects.
THIS ITEM IS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
Report
Summary
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration consistently ranks Phoenix in the top three cities in the nation for overall traffic fatalities. In 2019, the most recent year for complete data, the City of Phoenix experienced 179 traffic related deaths. Of this total, 73 were pedestrians (41 percent), 7 were cyclists (4 percent), and 99 were motorists (55 percent). Overall, Phoenix collision data for all transportation modes shows that traffic safety is an increasing and critical issues in Phoenix that has life-changing and life-ending consequences.
The Street Transportation Department (Streets) strives to provide an accessible city with safe mobility options for everyone regardless of their mode of transportation. Streets works with citywide data related to collisions in order to make sound decisions about roadway safety. These efforts are best described by the “Four E’s” approach to traffic safety, recognizing the strategic interaction between Evaluation, Engineering, Enforcement and Education. Streets recognizes that investments in Evaluation and Engineering programs can yield significant dividends and greatly improve roadway safety. However, roadway user behaviors that frequently disregard traffic laws impact overall roadway safety; therefore, Enforcement and Education are also key components to addressing overall traffic safety.
This update and overview of roadway safety practices in the City of Phoenix touches on current and planned practices and projects within each of these four areas of focus, as well as areas where more resources would be needed in order to take additional measures to address traffic safety concerns and implement solutions.
Current Practices and Projects
Evaluation
Streets staff regularly reviews and monitors data related to collisions on City streets, as well as reports and analyses related to traffic-related safety issues. This allows Streets staff to identify and prioritize roadway safety improvement projects.
Over the past five years (2015-2019), evaluation of Phoenix collision data points to the following trends:
- There has been a total of 150,702 traffic collisions, which amounts to almost 83 reported collisions per day. Collisions have increased by 13 percent between 2015 and 2019;
- There has been a total of 926 traffic-related fatalities, which amounts to one traffic-related fatality every other day;
- Driver violations of ‘Failure to Yield to Traffic’ and ‘Speeding’ are the top driver behaviors that result in collisions, including fatal collisions. These two violations are factors in more than half of Phoenix collisions;
- Phoenix had 4,019 serious injury collisions, which amounts to more than two traffic-related incapacitating injuries per day;
- Recently, there has been a significant focus on pedestrian fatalities, which in 2019 accounted for 41 percent of all traffic fatalities. However, between 2015 and 2019, other traffic-related deaths have remained steady, accounting for more than half of all fatal collisions in Phoenix; and
- In the past five years, Phoenix has also seen an eight percent increase in hit-and-run collisions. Hit-and-run collisions account for 13 percent of all reported collisions.
CRASH RISK INTERSECTION ANALYSIS
As part of its regional evaluation, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) publishes the Annual Network Screening list of Top 100 intersections in the region ranked by crash risk using a rolling data set of the previous five years. The most current MAG intersection list (Attachment A) identifies 72 Phoenix intersections in the Top 100, with eight Phoenix intersections in the Top 10.
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY
In response to increasing trends in pedestrian fatalities and with the support of the Mayor and Council, the City Manager’s Office created the Office of Pedestrian Safety (OPS) in 2018 within Streets. The formation of the OPS also included the initiation of an interdepartmental Pedestrian Safety Task Force, which includes Phoenix Police Department representatives. The OPS has advanced data analysis processes and developed a culture of safety-focused project prioritization for Phoenix streets.
Pedestrian safety is only one component of a comprehensive safety program. The tools implemented through this program do not and cannot address all problems. Programs and projects that focus on vehicular traffic safety and driver education are equally critical to reducing and eliminating serious injuries and fatal crashes of all types, including pedestrian safety.
It should be noted that safety countermeasures are not 100 percent effective, as they all have some level of reliance on roadway users for compliance. For example, drivers may choose to disregard posted speed limits or other traffic control devices, and pedestrians may choose not to travel to or use the nearest signalized crosswalk. An expanded safety program attempts to implement proven countermeasures to improve safety for all roadway users.
ROAD SAFETY ASSESSMENTS
Road Safety Assessments (RSAs) are a formalized practice of evaluating roadway safety consisting of an in-person field review by a team of experts and developing recommendations based on the scope and cost of potential improvements. RSAs are an essential step in securing safety-focused funding sources at both the federal and regional levels. From 2015 to 2019, the City of Phoenix participated in 21 RSAs at critical locations (Attachment B). Of these, 14 of the RSAs included intersections listed in MAG’s Annual Network Screening list of Top 100 intersections ranked by crash risk. These RSAs were coordinated and funded through either MAG or the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).
A significant limitation of the RSA process is that many high benefit recommendations carry substantial costs and must be addressed within Streets’ Capital Improvement Program (CIP). To leverage local funding, Streets monitors federal and regional grant programs that are available for implementation of projects related to completed RSAs.
- The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a federal funding source for safety specific projects and managed through ADOT. Since 2016, the City has been successful in receiving funding eligibility for eight projects totaling $16.6 million in grant funding. However, this type of funding has a long implementation process requiring federal clearances. So far, only one of the eight projects has been constructed.
- MAG has recently created a Road Safety Program (RSP) funding opportunity for safety-specific projects. The goal of the RSP program is to have safety projects built quicker, within a two-year time frame. Staff applied for funding for high safety need projects listed in MAG’s Annual Network Screening list of Top 100 intersections. Streets has been successful the last two years in obtaining $3 million in funding for eight projects. The funded projects include full signal rebuilds and streetlighting and all are currently in the design phase.
Engineering
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY
The OPS findings drive targeted improvements that are responsive to primary factors and trends observed in the data analysis. These analyses give special consideration to un-signalized crossing corridors with a high number of serious and fatal injury pedestrian collisions. These segments are ranked by injury severity and total injuries in order to prioritize funding and construction of infrastructure in the areas of most need. Streets staff also analyzes single-sided lighting corridor segments with large numbers of nighttime pedestrian collisions in order to improve the lighting along these corridors.
An effective Pedestrian Safety Program countermeasure is the High Intensity Activated Crosswalk, or HAWK, signal. This is a pedestrian-focused traffic control system that requires vehicular traffic to stop and dedicates time for pedestrians to cross at corresponding crosswalk locations. Research has demonstrated that HAWK signals provide significant safety benefits.
The City of Phoenix has 68 HAWK signals in operation and aims to expand these installations by 10 to 15 per year. A significant portion of the OPS funding is allocated to safety-focused prioritization and installation of HAWK signals in pedestrian safety hotspot areas.
TRAFFIC SIGNALS
Streets operates 1,158 traffic signals throughout the City. There is community and development demand for additional traffic signal installations, along with needs to modernize significant portions of our existing traffic signal infrastructure. Streets conducts an annual review of traffic signal and pedestrian traffic control needs using field-recorded traffic count data. This analysis determines subsequent funding priorities for the installation of new traffic signals and safety-related modifications to existing signals. Safety data analysis is a key component of project prioritization for these projects. The demand for signal-related infrastructure projects significantly exceeds Streets’ annual programmed funding for such projects.
Additional regular engineering processes that implement safety-related improvements include:
- Access control - New commercial developments are evaluated for safety. As warranted, Streets staff recommend or stipulate street access restrictions for directional movements into and out of the development;
- Median offset improvements - Streets has identified opportunities to improve median design at intersections and driveways to promote visibility of opposing traffic and foster safer turning movements. These improvements are currently implemented as a component of larger street improvement projects but could be expanded as stand-alone projects or in greater numbers through a broader safety program; and
- Lane narrowing and installation of bicycle lanes - In coordination with paving and pavement maintenance projects, the repainting of pavement markings can be reconfigured to narrow travel lanes, incorporate new bike lanes, and/or buffered bike lanes in order to reduce traffic speeds and promote multimodal use of public streets.
Enforcement
In April 2020, the Phoenix Police Department’s Traffic Bureau underwent a significant change by expanding the Traffic Unit within two patrol precincts. The Mountain View Precinct was the first patrol precinct to be assigned a Traffic Unit squad. The squad made a significant impact in the precinct during a pilot phase and quickly moved into a permanent assignment. In September 2020, a second Traffic Unit squad was assigned to the Maryvale-Estrella Mountain Precinct. In these precincts, the Traffic Unit has provided one sergeant and nine officers without additional sworn positions to the Police Department. Through November 2020, these two squads have responded to 1,135 of the 2,177 (52.14 percent) collisions during their operational hours.
Education
Streets’ educational programs are primarily oriented towards school safety, specifically pedestrian and bicycle safety for children. Streets has dedicated staff that coordinate school safety and educational programs. Several of these programs are supported by grants from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. Streets is also engaged with television and social media platforms, including public service announcements, to inform the public about traffic safety and understanding new technologies on City streets.
As an additional measure, speed feedback signs are deployed throughout the City to inform and reinforce speed limits and driver behavior. These sign systems consist of permanent devices, mostly located near schools, as well as portable trailers that can be located in areas of resident concerns.
Planned and Potential Future Practices and Projects
Evaluation
Current collision evaluation practices involve substantial delay in receiving data, processing it, and then creating a plan of action in response. Streets is in the process of developing additional analytical tools in order to more quickly process and review Phoenix collision data.
Streets staff is also evaluating the utilization of the process known as Systemic Safety Planning, which involves the evaluation of safety data, and using data analysis to drive safety improvement project prioritization and selection. The general concept of System Safety Planning is that proposed safety improvements have a crash reduction benefit, derived from research, that is multiplied by the cost to install that countermeasure. This cost is compared to the benefit, which is the monetary value of reduced societal impacts from injuries and fatalities. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has developed a cost estimation formula for different injury types, where a fatal collision has an estimated societal cost of $4,008,900, while collisions that result in no injury have an average societal cost of $7,400. If implemented, annual safety improvement project budgeting would be allocated substantially based on Systemic Safety Planning.
To more quickly address roadway safety issues and major collision events, many cities have implemented rapid-response teams consisting of multidisciplinary staff. Consisting of police, engineering, and community engagement staff and following a structure similar to an RSA, the rapid-response team can implement near-term solutions and begin longer-term planning efforts at a much faster pace. Phoenix currently engages in interdepartmental safety reviews, but participation in these reviews is typically not the primary function for the staff involved.
Engineering
Streets has a series of completed RSAs, and the findings and recommendations of these RSAs provide potential projects for implementation with identified safety benefits. These projects have not been completed primarily due to the cost associated with the longer-term RSA recommendations. While rebuilding a traffic signal to improve safety typically costs between $300,000 and $500,000, the relocation of major electrical utilities to remove visibility or mobility obstructions can exceed $1,000,000 per intersection. In addition, a common major safety factor at Phoenix intersections in MAG’s Top 100 list is poor access management (number and location of driveways) adjacent to intersections. Existing state law makes it both difficult and costly to modify existing access control for private properties.
The most recent MAG Top 100 list identifies Indian School Road intersections at 75th and 67th Avenues as the top two locations for crash risk in the MAG region. The City participated in a 2015 RSA to review the Indian School Road corridor, from 77th to 49th Avenues, including both intersections. The RSA identified at least $8.75 million in long-term recommendations that have yet to be implemented.
- Roadway Study and Geometric Improvements: $4,000,000
- Roadway Paving: $1,300,000
- Modernization of Corridor Traffic Signals: $2,450,000
- Miscellaneous Improvements: $1,012,150
- Access Management and Medians: to be determined
- Relocation of Power Utilities: to be determined
There has been significant advancement in traffic signal technology in recent years. These technologies vary from systems that adapt traffic control to changing traffic conditions to advanced data collection capabilities. Streets staff are able to receive and transmit data throughout the entire street network using fiber optic and wireless communications technology. However, the improved technologies provide a significant increase in data collection, which requires additional staffing resources to adequately process and analyze the data to fully leverage its potential safety benefits. Processing this level of data has not been done historically by Streets staff, but there is significant potential to the safety-related uses of this information. Specifically, these potential programs can improve:
- Incident response and management to reduce congestion and secondary collisions;
- Adaptive signal timing that can improve and manage traffic flow more efficiently; and
- Identification of intersections with frequent red-light running violations.
Enforcement
The Phoenix Police Department's Traffic Bureau has been using a model to provide 100+ motorcycle officers over the next few years to assist in the education and enforcement of traffic laws in Phoenix. This strategy was developed to provide one Traffic Unit (one sergeant and nine officers) to each patrol precinct, with the exception of the Central City Precinct, which has Downtown Operations Unit motorcycle officers to handle the precinct’s traffic needs.
Based on data, the next phase of the expansion is to create a Traffic Unit in the Cactus Park Precinct. The final three Traffic Units would be assigned to the Desert Horizon, South Mountain and Black Mountain precincts.
Education
To expand its education efforts, Streets could increase the use of driver feedback systems; although, these devices have been found to provide diminishing traffic safety returns as drivers become accustomed to the devices.
Additional efforts could also be made to expand our social and traditional media presence and ensure that content is timely and relevant to observed safety concerns. This could be coordinated with traffic safety training focused on the adult population, in addition to the work Streets already does for school-aged children. Streets has found that partnerships with Police and community stakeholders are key to effective education efforts.
Resources
To take a more focused approached to comprehensive roadway safety on our City streets, it would first take additional investment in roadway safety improvement projects that address Phoenix’s most critical traffic safety intersections and corridors.
Streets currently operates a limited number of programs that specifically address safety-related improvements. These current programs are funded at $4,685,000 and include:
- Justified Traffic Signals: $1,550,000;
- Office of Pedestrian Safety: $2,000,000;
- Left-turn Arrow Installations: $434,000;
- Miscellaneous Traffic Operations Improvements: $489,000;
- Streetlighting Enhancement Program: $50,000; and
- Speed Feedback Signs: $162,000.
In addition to funding constraints, a comprehensive roadway safety approach would also require additional staffing to effectively implement safety-focused programs. The majority of Streets Traffic Services staff are focused on ongoing operations and maintenance of our existing roadway network, primarily our traffic signals, streetlighting, signage, striping, and traffic mitigation programs. Although staff do work on and analyze traffic safety data and trends, it is not the focus of their primary daily duties.
As a comparison, the Office of Pedestrian Safety has been focused on pedestrian safety since it was formed in 2018 and has five dedicated staff members, who work to analyze data in near real time, develop pedestrian safety improvement projects, and coordinate with community stakeholders on pedestrian safety issues.
Potential Next Steps
Roadway Safety Action Plan
Streets proposes to initiate and lead the development of a Roadway Safety Action Plan (RSAP) in partnership with the Phoenix Police Department. The RSAP would provide a roadmap of priorities for implementing enhanced roadway safety programs modeled on the Four E’s: Evaluation, Engineering, Enforcement, and Education.
The primary purpose of the RSAP would be to reduce injuries and fatalities on Phoenix streets. Key to the RSAP effort would be coordination and engagement with community and business stakeholders, other City departments, and elected officials. The RSAP would include key performance metrics, goal setting, and would evaluate progress over an initial five-year period. With a City that is spread across 520 square miles, a successful RSAP for Phoenix would need to have the flexibility and adaptability to address the individual traffic safety issues for roadways across the City.
Streets anticipates that the initial phases of the RSAP could provide recommendations related to ongoing funding and staffing needs to properly support and implement the RSAP and address comprehensive roadway safety issues. The expected timeline to develop and implement the RSAP is approximately 12 to 18 months.
Roadway Safety Projects
As a short-term strategy, Streets proposes to implement high-priority safety improvements based on data analysis, including the list of the MAG Top 100 intersections, which have been reviewed by completed RSAs. This plan would require additional funding to review the prior RSAs conducted at these intersections, perform a cost-benefit analysis and preliminary engineering, and implement projects to complete the identified high-value improvements.
Streets proposes an initial investment of $6,000,000 to initiate the RSAP and to implement high-priority Roadway Safety Projects. In addition, Streets also recommends five additional positions to manage the development of the RSAP and to implement high-priority Roadway Safety Projects.
Recommendation
The Street Transportation Department requests the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee recommend City Council approval of the following initial actions to develop a Roadway Safety Action Plan and to implement roadway safety project recommendations from three to four completed Roadway Safety Assessments.
1. Allocation of up to $3 million in Streets T2050 revenues.
2. Allocation of up to $3 million in General Fund resources.
3. Creation of five full-time City staff positions, which will be funded using Arizona Highway User Revenue.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The item is scheduled to be presented to the Citizens Transportation Commission at its Jan. 28, 2021 meeting.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Street Transportation Department.