The Highway Safety Improvement Program with Pedestrian Safety
February 09, 2011 | by: Kevin O’Meara, EIT
The average person in American employs several forms of transportation infrastructure every day. Regardless of the form, we are sure to encounter pedestrians, whether as a pedestrian ourselves or while we are traveling in an automobile. The safety of pedestrians, particularly as they relate in their interactions with automobiles, is paramount in the eyes of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). That’s why VDOT developed a Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) which identifies dangerous locations, analyzes those existing conditions, and prioritizes the improvement of those problem areas.
The funding for VDOT’s HSIP was set in motion by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA). This Federal act established the HSIP which was “structured and funded to make significant progress in reducing highway fatalities and injuries” (VDOT). VDOT’s HSIP is broken down into several sub-programs. One of those programs is the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Program (BPSP), a program applicable to Timmons Group with regards to a project recently designed for the City of Richmond. The City wanted to improve a four-block area in Shockoe Bottom, downtown Richmond. Accordingly, an application was submitted to VDOT requesting an HSIP grant to improve this four-block area. The application was specifically submitted with regards to the BPSP portion of the HSIP.
The BPSP sets forth several points of qualification before any funding is granted. First and foremost, a problem must be identified. Specifically, problems with on-street parking, risks to pedestrian and bicycle travel, as well as engineering studies must be presented in the application. Consequently, the City also needed to identify a solution to these problems, a solution reached with the help of Timmons Group.
VDOT’s HSIP structures the funding as follows: 90% from Federal funds, 10% from State funds. One year is generally provided for the design phase of the project; one year is also provided for the construction phase. Those schedules are subject to change depending on project complexity and other unknown factors. This Shockoe Bottom safety improvements project took about 4 years to mature, from initial submittal of the HSIP application to the submittal of construction plans for review.
The safety improvements soon to be constructed in Shockoe Bottom will serve the needs of pedestrians and motorists alike, and hopefully will pave the way for similar projects in future.