Saving lives: the Comprehensive Highway Safety Plan
Howard Preston of CH2M HILL and Bernie Arseneau of Mn/DOT presented highlights of the new Minnesota Comprehensive Highway Safety Plan (CHSP). Completed in December 2004, the plan is designed to be a framework within which road safety programs can be evaluated and selected based on their ability to reduce the number of fatal and serious injury crashes in Minnesota. It establishes a safety goal of 500 or fewer fatalities annually by 2008.
Reaching local agencies is part of the plan. Half of all fatalities occur on local roads, Preston said, but the historical distribution of safety funds has not been proportional. The FHWA is now encouraging Mn/DOT to increase safety emphasis on local roads, he said.
Potential services as part of the plan include training, technical support, funding, and a CHSP Safety Toolbox. Efforts are supported by the Minnesota County Engineers Association's Rural Road Safety Task Force.
One of the useful tools provided under the plan is an interactive Excel spreadsheet showing the effectiveness of 15 different safety strategies and their predicted impact. Users can choose from a "basket of strategies," such as speed enforcement and street lighting, to address their local safety needs, he said.
The greatest challenge, Preston said, is implementing the prioritized strategies. "The most effective way to maximize implementation…is to build the strategies into every possible program and project," he said. This will include partnerships with law enforcement and funding for a statewide trauma system.
Work is just beginning to implement the plan, Arseneau continued, and will be leveraged with different project partners. Part of the effort will include a central pot to fund strategies, as well as money for area transportation plans that are in line with the Toward Zero Deaths program (cosponsored by CTS). Local participation is encouraged, and counties and cities will be able to compete for projects chosen by a central selection committee.
"The bottom line," Arseneau said, "is that the CHSP is a dynamic and useful tool to drive Minnesota toward zero deaths."