How the RTA Plan Improves Safety

April 3rd, 2006

We have a tremendous opportunity on May 16 to address our growing transportation problems and improve our quality of life.

The Regional Transportation Plan will implement $180 million of safety improvements to roads, intersections, sidewalks, railroads, and bus pullouts. These improvements can’t come soon enough.

Arizona roads are some of the most dangerous in the nation according to a 2004 report by the Arizona Society of Engineers. Pima County and Tucson got a D+ on Safety from the Society. Fatality rates on roads in Tucson are worse than for many similar size and even larger cities according to the report.

While transportation infrastructure isn’t the only reason for high fatality rates on Tucson roads, it does play a part.

Safer Intersections

It has been shown that improving intersections and widening roads, which the transportation plan will do, can reduce traffic fatalities and injuries. According to the American Automobile Association, 44 percent of all crashes occur at intersections. Nationally, according to the AAA, low-cost intersection improvements have reduced injuries by 46 percent and crashes by 26 percent over five years.

The RTA plan calls for safety improvements at 200 intersections, which will go along way to addressing the potential for traffic accidents at these high-risk areas.

Safer for Pedestrians

The Plan will also help make it safer for pedestrians. There were 837 pedestrians killed in Arizona from 1999 to 2004. Most victims died on municipal streets of Pima and Maricopa counties—Tucson and Phoenix, according to a December 2005 Arizona Daily Star article.

Police data from early 2005 shows that at least nine pedestrians, including one who died, were struck along little more than a mile of East Grant Road alone. The RTA plan includes significant funding to rebuild Grant to modern safety standards, including the dangerous mile between Country Club and Alvernon. Citywide the Plan will also add 250 miles of sidewalks and 80 new elderly and pedestrian crossing improvements to make walking in Tucson safer.

Safer Routes for Children to Get to School

Another important piece of the Plan is the Safe Routes to School Program. The Plan includes $10 million to fund the Safe Routes Program which will improve many of the direct routes that children use to walk and ride their bikes to school.

Reduced Delays For Ambulances

The Plan will also help emergency vehicles reach accidents faster by reducing congestion and improving intersections. The National Fire Protection Association standard calls for emergency vehicles to respond in four minutes or less 90 percent of the time. In Tucson, ambulances reach this goal only 60 percent of the time and for rural fire districts, the time is even longer. Traffic delays are the number one reason for the delays.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, for every extra minute it takes to transport someone with a life-threatening condition to the emergency room, his or her chance of survival diminishes by 10 percent.

Congestion is a real problem on Grant Road that leads to the Tucson Medical Center where more people go for 24-hour emergency care than any other place in Southern Arizona. The improvements on Grant Road included in the Plan will help to address the breakdown in traffic flow for ambulances on this critical corridor.

Safer Roads

A big chunk of the RTA Plan will go to improving roads and making them safer. About 58 percent of the plan, or a little more than $1.1 billion, is dedicated to adding more than 200 miles of new lanes to reduce congestion, ease the flow at busy intersections and make it easier for ambulances to reach accidents and emergency rooms.

Studies show that improving roads reduces traffic fatalities. Realigning roadways and removing roadside obstacles can reduce traffic fatalities by 66 percent. Building turn lanes at dangerous intersections can lead to a 47 percent reduction in traffic fatalities and injuries. Constructing medians to separate traffic can lead to a 73 percent improvement, while signs and pavement markings can reduce fatalities and injuries up to 39 percent. Widening a lane by two feet can reduce crashes by 32 percent.

Safer Railroad Crossings and More Bus Pull-Outs

The Plan will also provide for 10 new improved railroad crossings and 200 new bus pull-outs—two areas on our roads that can be dangerous and slow down traffic.

National and state surveys prove that currently Tucson’s roads are dangerous places to drive and walk. We have a chance to change that. The safety improvements in the RTA Plan will be vital to the safety, health, and future of our community.

Entry Filed under: Home Page Feature, Road Improvements, Safety, Bikes and peds