WA Communities Receive $2.6M to Plan & Implement Road Projects That Reduce Traffic Deaths

09.06.24

WA Communities Receive $2.6M to Plan & Implement Road Projects That Reduce Traffic Deaths

Cantwell-authored Safe Streets program continues to help make roadways safer for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians

EVERETT, WA - 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 $2,671,200 to develop road safety master plans that will make their streets 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 grants to help seven communities across the state develop safety action plans.

Among the projects receiving funding is an effort to update curbs, signage, and landscaping to help pedestrians cross a busy road more safely near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The following projects received funding:

• $1.66 million for the City of SeaTac to develop a comprehensive safety action plan and help mitigate mid-block crossings with changes such as vegetation removal, curb renovation, and new signage along the City's most vulnerable roadway, International Boulevard/State Route 99, which provides access to Sea-Tac International Airport as well as Sound Transit's Link Light Rail, King County Metro's RapidRide Bus Rapid Transit A-Line, multiple elementary schools and businesses, restaurants, hotels, and senior housing communities.

• $320,000 for the City of Walla Walla to develop a safer crossings plan and citywide speed management plan and conduct a school avenue corridor safety study.

• $209,040 for Clallam County to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.

• $160,000 for the City of Electric City to develop a comprehensive safety action plan and a downtown corridor plan.

• $142,160 for the City of Chelan to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.

• $100,000 for the City of Sedro-Woolley to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.

• $80,000 for the City of Ferndale 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. Within the first two years after the law's signing in November 2021, it 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.

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