Road Safety Fundamentals Webinar Series (9 of 10): Safety Considerations in Transportation Planning

When: Tuesday, April 13, 2021 -- 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM ET

This webinar was developed by the ITE Transportation Safety Council

Series Description:
This 10-part Road Safety Fundamental Webinar series highlights various aspects of road safety as part of ITE’s continued focus on Vision Zero and the goal to reduce and eventually eliminate fatalities. Presented by experts in their field, this series will have a topic appropriate for all levels. There is a suite of introductory webinars for those not familiar with road user safety as well as modules discussing safety evaluations and safety for all road users.

Webinar Description:

This webinar provides the professionals with the basic knowledge of the planning process and discusses how roadway safety can be considered and integrated into this planning process including through the application of quantitative macro-level safety prediction models.

Long-range transportation system planning, programming, and policy development provides strategic direction for transportation investments. This looks at growth, changing demographics and land use, and various performance metrics and lays out a roadmap for priorities and investment decisions. Plans such as the Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and the strategic highway safety plan (SHSP) provide a framework in which to address the various transportation needs and leverage limited resources. States and MPOs are required to establish safety performance targets. Initiatives such as Towards Zero Deaths (TZD), Vision Zero, Road to Zero Coalition, and now Safe Systems Approaches are growing. A better understanding the linkage between the various plans and how considering safety during the planning process.To advance quantitative safety planning and allow planners to address safety concerns prior to their full materialization, macro-level safety prediction models were developed and validated through NCHRP 17-81. The application of these models can be used to incorporate safety prediction into area-wide, long-range transportation system planning, programming, and policy development. The idea of predicting crashes within a given area, such as census tracts or traffic analysis zones (TAZs), allows agencies to identify safety concerns that may not be apparent by examining crash patterns at an intersection or segment scale.

Identifying and implementing methods in which safety can be explicitly considered along with other factors allows an agency to prioritize and leverage limited resources while meeting various performance goals and system needs. Integrating quantitative safety performance with other key information used during the decision-making process enables an agency to be more proactive and address multiple needs simultaneously.This webinar provides suggestions to integrate and consider safety during the transportation planning process.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees of this webinar will learn about:

• Describe the various types of plans and how they fit into the planning process.
• Describe the steps within the planning and programming process phase of project development and how substantive safety can be integrated into each step.
• Show how safety considerations are integrated into the planning phase of project development through a safety conscious decision-making process.
• Overview of the macro-level safety prediction models development and application into the planning process.

Speakers:

• Priscilla Tobias, PE, RSP2 B/I, Manager, Illinois Operations | Arora and Associates, P.C.
• Richard J. (R.J.) Porter, PhD, PE, Highway Safety Engineer | VHB
• Courtney Aguirre, Program Manager, Public Health & Safety | Southern California Association of Governments