Congressman Cohen Announces $13.1 Million from the Safe Streets for All Program

MEMPHIS - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, today announced that the City of Memphis will receive $13,188,000 from the Safe Streets and Roads for All Program to redesign the intersection at Lamar Avenue, Kimball Avenue, and Pendleton Street, identified as the most dangerous crossroads in the city. The funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that he alone among the current members of the Tennessee Congressional delegation voted for.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"This project and all the Complete Streets initiatives we undertake in our region, should be named for city planner Tommy Pacello, who attended my first Complete Streets roundtable and was totally committed to Complete Streets and a new way of looking at infrastructure based on the safety for all using our roadways. I am pleased to see that this dangerous intersection will be 'completely' redesigned. Tommy would have welcomed this significant improvement in public safety."

Congressman Cohen was an ardent supporter of this project and lent his support through both a letter of support and through advocacy with the Department of Transportation. Congressman Cohen introduced a new versionof his Complete Streets Act with Senator Ed Markey in January.

The Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program was created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fund regional, local, and Tribal planning, demonstration, and construction projects to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries.

In the current round of SS4A funding, DOT is providing $1 billion for 354 projects nationwide.

The City of Memphis is receiving its award to make significant improvements on a high-injury corridor at a six-way intersection that is the number-one location for crash frequency in the City. This complex intersection at Lamar Avenue, Kimball Avenue, and Pendleton Street has a confusing array of signals, fading and disjointed pedestrian connectivity, and little guidance on appropriate movements. To address these safety issues, the City will close one of the three intersecting roads, which will improve safety while simplifying intersection geometry and operations, and install a new traffic signal and pedestrian facilities. The intersection enhancements will increase the safety of drivers and of vulnerable road users who access nearby Cherokee Park, a 15-acre park with a playground, ball field, basketball court, pavilion, and fitness trail.

The project also includes supplemental planning and demonstration activities to deploy quick-build projects, develop a public education campaign with local schools, conduct a near-miss camera pilot program, and implement crash data analysis technology.

In 2023, the City of Memphis received a SS4A grant of $640,000 for preparation of a comprehensive "Safe Streets for All" plan. See that release here.

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