Title
Resolutions Supporting an Application for a 2024 Road to Zero Community Traffic Safety Grant and Advancing a Carrboro Vision Zero Initiative
PURPOSE: The purpose of this agenda item is to request that the Town Council consider resolutions in support of an application for the National Safety Council’s 2024 Road to Zero Community Traffic Safety Grant and to commit to a Vision Zero goal.
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Department
DEPARTMENT: Planning
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Contact;
CONTACT INFORMATION: Christina Moon, Planning & Transportation Administrator, 919-918-7325, cmoon@carrboronc.gov <mailto:cmoon@carrboronc.gov>; Patricia McGuire, Planning Director, 919-918-7327, pmcguire@carrboronc.gov <mailto:pmcguire@carrboronc.gov>
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Council Direction
COUNCIL DIRECTION:
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Council Direction Statement
The grant, if awarded, would provide the Town with an opportunity to develop a comprehensive approach to regular traffic collection on town streets to help inform systematic traffic calming and possible modifications to local street standards. The project would support the implementation of Transportation & Mobility strategy 2.2-E and F in the Comprehensive Plan. Pocket questions are provided as Attachment F.
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Information
INFORMATION: In early November, the National Safety Council announced a funding opportunity for the 2024 Road to Zero Coalition’s Community Traffic Safety Grants Community Traffic Safety Grants - National Safety Council (nsc.org) <https://www.nsc.org/road/resources/road-to-zero/road-to-zero-grants>. The program, funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is designed to fund projects, programs, and research to help achieve the goal of zero traffic (Attachment B). The Road to Zero program focuses on implementing the three pillars of the Road to Zero strategy: 1) doubling down on what works through proven, evidence-based strategies, 2) advancing life-saving technology in vehicles and infrastructure, and 3) adopting a Safe Systems approach and creating a positive safety culture. The Safe System approach is to design and operate vehicles and infrastructure in a manner that anticipates human error and accommodates human injury tolerances with a goal of reducing fatal and serious injuries (Attachment C).
The Town is interested in pursuing funding to engage consultant services to conduct systematic traffic counts on Town streets. Traffic data would include annual average daily traffic counts (AADT), peak counts, and traffic speeds at locations and intersections to complement existing counts collected by the DCHC MPO, as part of the Congestion Management Plan for the mobility report card, and NCDOT’s counts, on certain state-maintained streets, to provide a comprehensive understanding of traffic throughout the Town’s planning jurisdiction. This data will contribute valuable insights for potential revisions to local street standards and recommendations for systematic traffic calming-recommendations identified during the Town Council’s work session on traffic calming on September 12, 2023, and Transportation & Mobility Strategy 2.2 E & F in the Carrboro Comprehensive Plan (Attachment D). A map of existing traffic calming measures is also provided (Attachment E).
Grant applications are due January 14, 2024. Work is expected to be completed on or before one year after the date of the award. Staff would work with the Town Engineer to develop a preliminary project scope to determine the amount of funding to request. Requested amounts must be between $50,000 and $250,000. No match is required but applicants are requested to become Road to Zero Coalition members <https://www.nsc.org/road/resources/road-to-zero/join-the-road-to-zero-coalition>. In addition, a resolution to support a Vision Zero initiative for the Town is provided (Attachment G).
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Fiscal and Staff Impact
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with receiving this item. If the Town is awarded the grant, staff will bring back a separate agenda relating to the project budget and necessary agreements. Staff time will be associated with further work on a Vision Zero strategy and in relation to this funding request, should it be approved.
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Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Town Council consider:
1) the resolution (Attachment A) supporting the submittal of an application for the 2024 Road to Zero Community Traffic Safety Grant, and
2) the resolution (Attachment G) adopting a Resolution to Advance a Vision Zero Initiative.
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