The program targets “distractions” and “political messages or artwork,” and paves the way for autonomous vehicles.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced a new road safety program — but no associated funding or other details, reports Graham Kilmer in Urban Milwaukee.
The program, “Safe Arterials for Everyone through Reliable Operations and Distraction-Reducing Strategies or SAFE ROADS,” asks state and local agencies to identify dangerous roads, “eliminate distractions,” and “make the entire roadway right‑of‑way easier to interpret and navigate for all users, including pedestrians, vehicle operators, and automated vehicles alike.”
Secretary Duffy’s letter does not specify what constitutes “distractions,” which the letter mentions three times. “Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork,” Duffy said, signaling that the administration plans to continue targeting roadway interventions such as ‘rainbow crosswalks’ and Black Lives Matter murals. The agency says it will provide technical expertise for assessments and studies. “The resources to effectuate any road safety projects, however, would need to come from the state or local level. The SAFE Roads program isn’t providing additional funding.”
City officials in Milwaukee say that city has been working through the steps of the Safe Streets and Roads for All program to develop traffic safety projects and awaits a decision on their application for $25 million in federal funding for implementation.
FULL STORY: Feds Announce Vague Road Safety Program
USDOT Blocks Federal Funding for Traffic Cameras
Applicants to the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program will not be allowed to use funds for automated traffic enforcement.
USDOT secretary plans to pull $1.73B from 'DEI bike lanes'
The move jeopardizes dozens of road safety projects around the country.
USDOT Pulls Funding from Projects not “Car-Focused” Enough in Connecticut, New Mexico, Illinois
The department is sending letters to local officials rescinding multimodal grants, saying the money will instead be focused on projects that “promote vehicular travel.”
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association