City Applies for All Roads Transportation Safety (ARTS) Program Grant

The City of Florence has received several questions regarding a grant application that was discussed at the April 16, 2018 City Council Meeting. At that meeting, staff requested approval to apply for the All Roads Transportation Safety (ARTS) Program Grant through the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to make safety improvements at 9th and Kingwood street and along the entire corridor of Kingwood between 2nd and 35th street. 

Many community members who read the Siuslaw News article on the grant application may have interpreted it to mean that the City was requesting approval to install a round-about at this time. As the grant cycle will fund projects to be delivered in the years 2022-2024, the City would not be constructing the proposed traffic calming elements for several years if awarded the grant. You can read the full Siuslaw News article with the project details here. 

What did the City apply for?

Based on their analysis of crash data, ODOT has developed a list of locations throughout the State for potential projects using its Safety Priority Index System (SPIS), and Safety Implementation Plans for three emphasis areas including potential remedies and countermeasures. In analyzing the crash data for Florence City streets, 9th and Kingwood had the most incidents injury accidents, with one accident being serious. It should be noted that the grant is for City streets. Hwy 101 and Hwy 126 that run through town are not City maintained or controlled. ODOT will need to go through a similar process and compete for ARTS grant funding for any safety improvements within their network.

The State of Oregon just announced the ARTS grant application process is now open for cities, counties, and ODOT to address safety improvements such as this, with a very short turn around window. The Council approved staff to submit an application for the grant. The grant is highly competitive and there is a very small pot of money to fund ODOT’s Region 2 requests. (Region 2 includes Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, Yamhill, Polk, Marion, Lincoln, Linn, Benton, and Lane counties.)  If we are successful and receive grant funding, the funding would not be until 2022. A roundabout is just one of a number of alternatives that will be looked at and the most effective solution will be selected.

What are we hearing from the public?

The City has seen several discussions on social media regarding the images that were presented at the Council meeting and in the Siuslaw News. Much of the discussion is based on individual opinions and incomplete information. It is our goal to fill in any blanks and address questions/suggestions that have been passed on to us. Developing street networks and implementing traffic control devices are based on prescribed methods and traffic data. 

There have been many suggestions, the most popular of which is simply installing a 4-way stop at the intersection. However, simply installing a 4-way intersection will not work for several reasons as outlined below: 

• The Kingwood legs of the intersection are already stop controlled with large stop signs, one of which has flashing red LED lights around the perimeter of the sign. Even with these stop signs motorists still do not stop.
• With the volume of traffic on 9th Street, by creating a 4-way stop we may create a situation where people are rear ended or extremely long ques (cars waiting for their turn to proceed through the intersection) during peak periods. During non-peak periods we are setting folks up to do rolling stops or not stopping at all.
• There are about 10 times as many cars up and down 9th as on Kingwood and if we make them stop there will be traffic backed up both ways on 9th St.

That of course brings up the question of emergency vehicles that must travel on 9th Street. During peak times when traffic is backed up at a four way stop, it will be difficult for them to get through a four way controlled intersection safely since there are no dedicated left turn lanes.

Some of the other suggestions that we have seen include:

• Stop Light - Same problems as above.
• Flashing Yellow Lights - While flashing yellow lights indicate proceeding with caution, they would not stop the issue of drivers not stopping when on Kingwood.
• Rumble Strips - While useful tools to get motorists attention along highways, rumble strips are intended to primarily slow people down while continuing to drive. Our problem at this location is that the majority of accidents are due to motorists pulling out in front of other cars or not yielding.

About the ARTS Program

The ARTS program is a safety program that addresses safety for all public roads in the state of Oregon. This program uses federal funds from the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). HSIP adopts a data-driven approach that uses crash data, risk factors, and other supported methods to identify the best possible locations to achieve the greatest benefits. The first round of ARTS began in 2014 with projects scheduled for delivery in 2017-2021. Projects will be selected for either ‘Hotspot’ or ‘Systemic’ improvements. The selected projects will be added to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).

The ‘Hotspot’ method identifies locations with documented crash problems, selects and then applies appropriate countermeasure(s) to mitigate the crash problems. Hotspot countermeasures are typically more expensive than ‘systemic’ countermeasures. Examples of hotspot projects include installation of left turn lane(s), installation of a roundabout or new traffic signal at an intersection, or conversion of a signalized intersection to a roundabout.

ODOT has developed a list of locations for potential projects using its Safety Priority Index System (SPIS), and Safety Implementation Plans for three emphasis areas including potential remedies and countermeasures: Roadway Departure, Intersections and Pedestrian and Bicycle. The City can use the SPIS list or an alternate method to identify the best potential projects, as long as the projects address crash history of at least one fatal or serious injury crash within the last five years. The five year period is 2012-2016.

The ‘Systemic’ method takes a broader view by looking at the crash history and risks associated with an entire roadway/corridor and then applying proven low-cost countermeasures to reduce the risk along the entire roadway, corridor or jurisdiction. Examples of systemic projects include installation of curve warning signs, reflectorized backplates on signals, rumble strips, countdown pedestrian timers (for pedestrian activated street crossings) and conversion to flashing yellow left turn arrow (FYLTA) signal heads for protected-permitted left turn (PPLT) signal operation.

The ARTS program consists of three emphasis areas for systemic improvements: Roadway Departure, Intersection, and Pedestrian and Bicycle. Systemic project locations may be selected from ODOT’s list of priority corridors for these three areas or from other sources. The systemic funds are roughly proportional to the number of fatalities and serious injuries that occur within ODOT Region 2.

ODOT recognizes that some jurisdictions may have supplemental crash data (e.g. police reports) that might be different from ODOT crash data. This data is exempt from project prioritization and benefit cost analysis. For fairness and consistency, crash data from 2012- 2016 obtained from ODOT Crash Reports must be used for analysis purposes. However, the supplemental data may be informative for selecting appropriate countermeasures at a given location.