Roadway Safety Action Plan

The City of Keene is developing a comprehensive Roadway Safety Action Plan (RSAP) to reduce fatalities and serious injuries from roadway crashes. This effort is being funded in part by a United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) planning grant. 

The RSAP will incorporate the Safe System approach, which builds and reinforces multiple layers of protection to prevent crashes from happening in the first place and minimize the harm from crashes when they occur. This is a shift from a conventional safety approach because it focuses on both human mistakes AND human vulnerability and designs a system with many redundancies in place to protect everyone. The approach includes the six following principles:

• Safer People
• Safer Roads
• Safer Vehicles
• Safer Speeds
• Post-Crash Care

Keene’s RSAP will also align with State priorities as outlined in the NH Department of Transportation (NHDOT) 2022-2026 New Hampshire Strategic Highway Safety Plan which identifies a series of strategies and actions to prioritize safety investments that address specific crash factors. This five-year State plan also informs both infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects funded annually through Federal programs.

The RSAP will also include equity considerations to ensure an inclusive and representative process in the development of the plan. The focus on equity also means consideration of socioeconomic factors when prioritizing actions.

---

Keene Roadway Statistics

Based on the last five full years of available crash data from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, over 3,800 crashes occurred on roadways within Keene city limits. Of these crashes, three involved a fatality and another 34 resulted in a serious injury. Keene’s crash trends similarly match those of the State, with a reduction in 2020 when fewer trips were made during the COVID pandemic and then a rebound after 2021 as travel patterns resumed.

The Toward Zero Deaths national strategy has set a benchmark for the year 2050 for the United States to reach zero roadway deaths. In Keene, not only are zero deaths achievable (there are years when there are no deaths on the City’s roadways), but the City is also trying to drive down serious injuries to zero. 

Examples of roadway safety investments include those that involve constructing a treatment to address a crash risk or to enhance the comfort of all road users, including those who walk, bike, roll, or use mobility assisted devices. Investments may also include non-infrastructure initiatives, such as education campaigns and outreach activities to promote road safety.

---

Roadway Safety Infrastructure Examples

Click the photo, then click the arrows left and right to view additional photo examples.

 

---

Submit a Comment or Question