Thesecondroundofpublic engagement for the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) was held at the Lincoln County Courthouse on April 8.
Lincoln County was awarded a Safe Streets for All planning grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to create a Roadway Safety Action Plan. The plan will help the county with infrastructure improvements, traffic management, future funding for safety improvements, bolster road safety and quality of life, and reduce injury and fatal crashes.
Currently, a survey is underway to find areas with high incident rates that county officials need to focus on.The survey has been ongoing since December, with SS4A doing an intensive study of crash data as well as reaching out to the community. Tuesday’s meeting informed citizens of where they are currently in the study and asked for input.
According to Saeed Sobhi, a consultant with WSB working on the project, from 2017 to 2021, there were 1,789 crashes in the county, with 40 of those fatal crashes. While that is only 2 percent of crashes, it’s still too many.
“Now, 2 percent may not seem a lot, but it’s people’s lives. So, one fatal crash is one too many. And that’s why this program is there to, once we do this plan, there is going to be a commitment to, in fact, follow up and do what is identified in this plan to try and reduce these crashes,” he said.
According to their analysis, fatal crashes per capita (per 100,000 individuals) for Lincoln County are at 118.87, compared to the state of Oklahoma at 78.04 and the U.S. at 53.89.
“So, there’s a quite significant difference in the concentration of crashes per capita in this county. Which means this is a great thing that the county is doing; to do this planning effort and identify areas where we can reduce these occurrences,” Sobhi said.
Most crashes on roadways in the county are fixed-object, meaning a vehicle hits something stationary like a light pole or mailbox. At intersections, most crashes are either turning or rear-end accidents, according to SS4A’s analysis.
Some of the general issues they’ve identified from community feedback so far are road conditions and maintenance, blind intersections, traffic lights, lacking shoulder width, and poor lighting on roadways.
SS4A is currently working to identify countermeasures and prioritize strategies and procedures while also drafting reviews of the Safety Action Plan. They expect to deliver the final Safety Action Plan to the county by September. Sobhi said any areas they identified that fall under the purview of a city government, they will also share those findings with them.
They also encouraged Lincoln County residents to get involved and provide input on roads they feel could be safer. To do so, visit the website at lincolncountyss4a. com.