Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is considering changing how it prioritizes highway safety spending and is asking for your input at its Fall Transportation Meeting in Harrisonburg on October 28.
So often when there are safety concerns or congestion on our local roadways, the reflexive solution is more pavement – more lanes, wider intersections, or even new roads so more cars can avoid the area where safety issues or congestion are occurring. These types of solutions are high cost and often just lead to more traffic (build it and they will come!), at the expense of our rural lands and historic and cultural resources.
This time we want to take a minute to applaud VDOT for its recent study and suggested implementation of eight lower-cost, pavement-free safety upgrades that have measured success in crash reduction.
Some of these safety upgrades to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) are slated to be completed as early as 2021 while others are tied to the pavement resurfacing cycle and will be addressed when a roadway is scheduled for maintenance. Fully implemented, VDOT’s plan estimates 1235 deaths and injuries will be prevented annually.
We have long advocated for targeted, data driven solutions and that’s exactly what VDOT has delivered. Bravo!
If you’d like the opportunity to thank VDOT in person, come to the Fall Transportation Meeting on October 28th in Harrisonburg at the Doubletree Hotel (directions) at 3pm.
If you can’t make the meeting, here are some other ways you can comment on these upgrades:
USPS
OIPI Deputy Director, Ronique Day
1221 E. Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23219
-or-
Email
PublicComments@OIPI.Virginia.gov
Comments will be accepted until November 30, 2019.
Featured image by Bradley Striebig Photography.