Safe Streets for All

Current Work

The Safe Streets & Roads for All (SS4A) program is a subset of funding included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) signed into law by President Biden in November 2021. All types of local governments as well as Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) like SRPC have been eligible to apply for funding for an action plan that makes local governments eligible for implementing construction projects and additional local planning efforts. What is an example of this? See “Future Funding Opportunities for our Communities” below.

Four of New Hampshire’s nine regional planning commissions (RPCs) are federally-designated MPOs, and together they have jointly applied and successfully obtained SS4A funding for Action Plans for their respective regions with the intent of making the total 72 cities and towns (with a combined population of 850,000+) eligible for further funding starting in summer 2025. The four MPOs have secured VHB Inc. as their consultant to conduct literature reviews, outreach, data collection and analysis, and to draft the plans for each of the four MPO regions.

A steering committee of the MPO transportation planning staff has been formed, which receives direct and ongoing input from their respective Technical Advisory Committees (TACs). A focus group of vulnerable users in the Strafford MPO region is also being formed. The survey has concluded as of August 2024 and VHB is processing the results through the fall. The four MPOs are identifying the highest priorities to be addressed in such an Action Plan through September and October. VHB is working with local and state law enforcement to collect incident and crash information and with transit providers to collect usage statistics.

Opportunities to Provide Feedback

SRPC welcomes comments or context for transportation safety issues, big or small, at any time through this process. SRPC’s TAC meets the first Friday of every month virtually or in-person and their meetings are open to the public. You may also contact Principal Transportation Planner Colin Lentz (right) to submit comments or ask questions. SRPC will post maps and findings as they become available from VHB.

Future Funding Opportunities for our Communities

Once the Strafford MPO Safety Action Plan is complete, it will grant all 18 communities access to construction projects and additional local planning efforts.

What is an example of “construction projects and additional local planning efforts?” These projects are referred to as “implementation,” and as of fall 2024, there are only a handful planned because many cities, counties, and MPOs are still in the process of applying for or drafting their Action Plans that is required. Examples from the SS4A website include:

• Garrett County, Maryland intends to pilot “quick-build demonstration projects [that] will include temporary road diets, the introduction of physical and visual barriers on road shoulders to protect pedestrians and cyclists, and the implementation of innovative traffic calming techniques.”
• Casper, Wyoming seeks to “improve downtown pedestrian infrastructure along their Rails to Trails system. The trail connects the downtown business district to neighborhoods and has inadequate lighting and safety measures at mid-block crossings… The project includes new light-emitting diode lights, 6 new rectangular rapid-flashing beacons for pedestrians, pedestrian refuge islands, new curb ramps and detectable warning surfaces, and replacing damaged sidewalk.”
• Amherst, New Hampshire has applied to “reconfigure parking to provide daylighting, realign intersections, narrow travel lanes, reduce corner radii, remove centerline pavement markings where practical, and shorten crosswalk lengths.”

More information about eligible projects can be found at the US Department of Transportation’s SS4A page: https://www.transportation.gov/grants/SS4A