From Tech Transfer Newsletter, Summer 2007 » printer-friendly

Safety Corridor Product Demonstration

Although everyone has an interest in making highways safer places to travel, the challenge often lies in identifying those who have the ability to improve conditions and gathering those people to make positive changes collaboratively. To reduce crash and fatality rates in identifiable problem areas, the federally-funded Safety Corridor Program aims to bring together stakeholders who can move promising safety initiatives from the planning room into actual practice. Many states have introduced Safety Corridor Programs, including California and Washington.

California's Highway Safety Corridor Program

In California, the Office of Traffic Safety distributes federal grant funds to the Highway Patrol to establish task forces comprised of representatives from city, county, regional, state, and federal government agencies and the private sector. The mission of each task force is to assess a high-collision highway, truck, or pedestrian corridor, make recommendations to improve traffic safety on the identified roadway or pedestrian site, and implement, if economically feasible, those recommendations. Task forces have worked to improve traffic safety on corridors statewide; a complete list of Safety Corridors is available at www.chp.ca.gov/highways/corridor.html.

Washington's Safety Corridor Program

Another excellent program is Washington's Safety Corridor program, in which citizen and business groups, law enforcement, engineering, education and medical service safety professionals play an equal role in the planning, development and construction process and sustain the effort over the long-term. Local communities have also been actively involved in the Washington Corridor Safety Program (CSP).

Product Demonstration Showcase

Safety professionals are invited to participate in a Product Demonstration Showcase (PDS) of the Washington State Department of Transportation's Corridor Safety Program.

The showcase will cover all aspects of the process that Washington used to bring the Safety Corridor Program to life. It will describe how all the parties were approached; the challenges the group faced; and how participation, planning, design and jurisdictional obstacles were overcome. Following an interactive classroom training session, showcase attendees will visit three field sites - including a 16 mile rural safety corridor along the Columbia River - to experience original conditions and resulting solutions.

Dates: August 23-24, 2007

Location: Vancouver, Washington

Cost: $99.00 for the two-day event. Includes handout materials, site visit transportation and dinner Thursday evening.

Accommodations: A group room block has been arranged at the Hilton Vancouver Washington in Vancouver, WA for $101.00 per night for single occupancy. To book a room, contact the hotel at 360.993.4500. Mention the Corridor Safety Showcase to receive this special rate.

Registration: Visit the Utah LTAP page or contact:

• Keri Shoemaker
  Utah LTAP Center
  435.797.2931
• Mathew Enders
  Washington LTAP Center
  360.705.6907

Hosts: The showcase is co-hosted by the City of Vancouver, WA, WSDOT, and the Federal Highway Administration's Washington and Utah Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) centers.

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