JACKSON, Wyo. — Teton County and the Town of Jackson have been awarded a substantial grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to complete a Comprehensive Multi-Modal Safety Action Plan. The proposed project will build upon the existing Teton Mobility Project and Complete Streets initiative.
With this funding, the Town and County plan to establish a public/private steering committee to oversee the development, implementation and monitoring of the Action Plan development.
“We are thrilled that USDOT created the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program to encourage comprehensive policy, process, and design solutions to make our transportation facilities safe for all users,” said Charlotte Frei, Regional Transportation Planning Administrator. “This action plan grant will allow us to look holistically at solutions for safer regional mobility and pursue future capital grants under the SS4A umbrella.”
This support will help Frei and Pathways Coordinator, Brian Schilling, conduct an inclusive visioning and goal-setting workshop, identify low-cost, high-impact strategies and technologies, and eventually deploy a safe systems approach for the entire roadway network in our Town and County. To achieve this work, the Town and County team will identify and prioritize strategies and projects that reduce or eliminate transportation-related injuries and fatalities; identify policies, processes, guidelines and standards for implementation; and assess current guidelines/standards to prioritize transportation safety for all.
“The Safety Action Plan grant will help our community chart the next 10 years or more of improvements to make our streets, roadways and pathways safe and inviting for all users,” said Schilling. This is a huge boost to our ongoing transportation planning efforts and will strategically position the Town and County to compete for larger federal implementation and capital funding opportunities in the future.”
Sustainable Strategies DC (S2), a grant writing consultancy group hired by the Town of Jackson to identify and recommend grant opportunities for the community, flagged the SS4A Safety Action Plan Grant as an opportunity for the community. Between the Town and County, there are numerous high-priority projects in each agency’s respective Capital Improvement Program that would be excellent candidates for SS4A Implementation Grants.
The SS4A program was approved as part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill to provide $1 billion annually over the next 5 years to local governments to improve roadway safety by significantly reducing or eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries. The SS4A program provides funding for two types of grants: Action Plan Grants (for comprehensive safety action plans) and Implementation Grants (capital construction or programs). The Town and County applied for an Action Plan Grant to develop a comprehensive safety action plan that meets the federal requirements and is a requirement of eligibility to apply for an Implementation Grant.
