12.09.23

25 WA Communities Will Get $38.3 Million to Help Reduce Rising Tide of Traffic-Related Deaths

Richland, Spokane, & Vancouver all receive DOT funding for multi-million dollar projects to make major roadways safer; 2022 saw WA’s most traffic fatalities since 1990, in 2023 fatalities are trending even higher

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced that communities across the State of Washington will receive a total of $38.3 million to make their roadways safer for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians. 

The funding, which comes from the Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program, includes three project implementation grants and 22 planning grants.

“Fatalities on our roadways are preventable. In the State of Washington, traffic fatalities climbed by nearly 40% between 2019 and 2022, and we’ve seen a continued increase in 2023. Money from the Safe Streets and Roads for All program will help improve safety for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike in over 23 communities across the state,” Sen. Cantwell said.

The three implementation grants include:

  • $11,729,500 for the City of Richland to make significant upgrades to George Washington Way and Jadwin Avenue, where 548 crashes, causing 4 fatalities and 152 injuries, have occurred within the project boundaries. The project will address common major risk factors for pedestrians and bicyclists, dark conditions, entering at angle, and roadway departure-related crashes. Infrastructure treatments include reconfiguring the corridors into one-way streets, and converting intersections to single approach. Lighting, including pedestrian-scale lighting, is included to provide specific safety benefits to active transportation users. Speeding and access control will also be addressed with signal coordination and driveway closures.

“In just five years, there have been over 500 crashes on a roughly one-mile stretch of Jadwin Ave and George Washington Way. These federal dollars will help the City of Richland modernize intersections, install protected bike lanes, and improve lighting along the corridor. Not only will this grant improve safety, but it will also strengthen the economic vitality of Richland’s downtown by improving access to the John Dam Plaza and the waterfront,” Sen. Cantwell said.

  • $9,600,000 for the City of Spokane to reduce serious and fatal collisions for pedestrians and bicyclists in selected priority locations based on its Vision Zero Action Plan. This funding will address safety issues on Spokane’s arterial street system, where 85% of fatal and serious crashes involving vulnerable users occur. Upgrades will include new and upgraded bicycle facilities, shared use pathways, sidewalks, curb extensions, crosswalk markings and warning devices, and lighting. Several projects will repurpose existing pavement by removing or reducing vehicular travel lanes and adding bicycle lanes. The proposal will improve safety and access to existing infrastructure and services in its downtown core. The curb cuts and new ADA paths next to public stairways will help mobility-limited populations reach more destinations and access transit.

“Spokane County had the highest rate of serious and fatal pedestrian collisions in the State of Washington in 2022. For one of the most rapidly-growing cities in our state, safety improvements to roadways must keep up. This money will ensure that Spokane can continue to work towards the goals of its Vision Zero Action plan and reduce dangerous collisions for pedestrians and cyclists by upgrading shared-use pathways and facilities, adding bike lanes, and installing new crosswalk safety measures,” Sen. Cantwell said.

  • $5,696,000 for the City of Vancouver to support the design and construction of multiple safety projects and strategies on Fourth Plain Boulevard, a central arterial and major bus rapid transit corridor in a historically underserved neighborhood. According to the city, the corridor is the most unsafe corridor in the entire city. From 2018 to 2020 there were over 300 crashes. Fourth Plain Boulevard’s high speeds endanger pedestrians, cyclists, and small mobility users and create hazardous conditions for all roadway users, including vehicles. Proposed safety improvements will include enhanced pedestrian crossings using hybrid beacons and refuge islands, sidewalk infill and extensions, intersection redesign, and one Complete Streets treatment, which enables safe use and support mobility for all users.

“There were over 300 crashes on The Fourth Plain corridor in a three-year period, making it the most dangerous street in the entire city. I created the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program because improved infrastructure can save lives. This grant will fund needed safety improvements for intersections, roadway repairs, and new bike lanes for the corridor,” Sen. Cantwell said.

The planning grants include:

  • $2,870,000 to the Puget Sound Regional Council to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $2,787,894 to the City of Bellevue to conduct supplemental planning activities including road safety audits, speed studies, developing a separated bike lane design guide, and creating speed safety camera procedures. The city will also improve pedestrian safety by implementing adaptive pedestrian signal controls, aesthetically-treated crosswalks, and advanced safety technologies.
  • $1,008,316 to the Lummi Indian Business Council to develop a comprehensive safety action plan, and to pilot safety strategies at up to nine targeted intersections including high-friction pavement, CCTV/ITS equipment, delineators, signage improvements, illuminated stop signs, vegetation/sight line improvements, pedestrian crossing treatments, speed feedback signs, and speed humps.
  • $600,000 to the City of Tacoma to conduct supplemental planning to develop an ADA transition plan including measurements of accessibility criteria for sidewalks, curb ramps, traffic signals, bus stops, and driveway curb cuts in the public right-of-way, as well as an assessment of existing policies and procedures.
  • $400,000 to the City of East Wenatchee, in partnership with Douglas County, to develop a comprehensive safety action plan for the region and make updates to ADA transition plans for the area.
  • $350,000 to Yakima Valley Conference of Governments to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $332,520 to the Thurston Regional Planning Council to develop a regional safety action plan, and to develop supplemental ADA transition plans in three member communities.
  • $320,000 to the Benton Franklin Council of Governments to develop a supplemental Safe Routes to School Plan which will inform the council’s comprehensive safety action plan currently under development.
  • $320,000 to the City of Pasco to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $300,000 to the Skagit Council of Governments to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $300,000 to the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $261,200 to the City of Elma to develop a comprehensive safety action plan, and to pilot temporary traffic calming techniques such as curb bump-outs, planter sections to break up center turn lanes, and painted road sections at crosswalks and bike lanes, as well as installing temporary street lighting near schools and on the City's Main Street.
  • $200,000 to the City of Buckley to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $200,000 to the City of Wenatchee to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $172,520 to the City of Cle Elum to develop a comprehensive safety action plan and an ADA self-evaluation and Program Access Plan, which will include a comprehensive inventory and condition assessment of the city's transportation facilities and rights of way providing access to public facilities.
  • $160,000 to the City of Mercer Island to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $160,000 to the City of Mill Creek to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $150,040 to the City of Prosser to develop a comprehensive safety action plan and an ADA self-evaluation and Program Access Plan, which will include a comprehensive inventory and condition assessment of the city's transportation facilities and rights of way providing access to public facilities.
  • $120,000 to the City of Orting to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $102,480 to the City of College Place to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $100,000 to the City of Anacortes to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $88,776 to the City of Ritzville to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.

Sen. Cantwell authored the Safe Streets and Roads For All program, steered its authorization of the program through the Commerce Committee, and ensured that the program was among the transportation investments included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Safe Streets and Roads For All grants help local governments carry out Vision Zero plans and other improvements to reduce crashes and fatalities, including for cyclists and pedestrians.

Thanks to Sen. Cantwell's leadership, the BIL will deliver an estimated $7.6 billion in formula funding for transportation investments to Washington state. In the two years since the law's signing in November 2021, it has funded nearly 1,200 transportation projects in the State of Washington.

Data about Washington state traffic collisions and fatalities broken down by city and county is available HERE.