13. Transportation System Safety The goal of the Transportation System Safety Program Area is to improve transportation safety throughout the region by supporting planning efforts to develop safety policies, programs, and projects in the North Central Texas region related to pedestrians, bicycling, transit, roadways, and highways. Data collection, analysis, training, education, enforcement, and engineering are key aspects to improving transportation safety in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) continues to coordinate with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the Department of Public Safety, insurance companies, local governments, and other partners to develop strategies for data collection, analysis, and archiving. Current Transportation Safety Activities Roadway safety improvements that reduce roadway fatalities and injuries include a diverse set of activities implemented by a variety of transportation professionals. Safety improvements are traditionally categorized by the three E s engineering, education, and enforcement but other activities, such as emergency medical services and maintenance are also relevant. NCTCOG is involved in several projects that monitor and improve safety throughout the region s transportation system. NCTCOG has teamed with local, state, and federal government agencies and organizations to work toward this end. One such example is the Railroad Crossing Reliability Partnership Program. This program has provided nearly $9 million for rail crossing improvements throughout the region. NCTCOG is also involved in a Railroad Safety Education Program a public outreach program that will increase awareness and education about public safety at railroad crossings in the region. This project includes an analysis of rail safety data that will be used to identify target areas to focus education materials and effort. As a means to address the safety of truck and automobile interactions on our regional roadways, NCTCOG also sponsored a Truck Lane Restriction Study. A variety of data was collected as part of the study to provide a well-rounded understanding of the impacts truck lane restrictions and enforcement have on roadway safety. More information on the Railroad Crossing Reliability Partnership Program, the Railroad Safety Education Program, and the Truck Lane Restrictions Study can be found in the Good Movement section of this plan. NCTCOG is also actively involved in providing transportation safety related seminars, web briefings, and workshops to our member city agencies. One such workshop offered by NCTCOG was the Voluntary Technical Workshop on House Bill 87 (HB 87) 25 MPH Speed Limits. HB 87 was successfully passed in the Texas Legislature in March 2005. The passage of this legislature allowed cities to lower residential speed limits to 25 miles per hour under certain conditions. The streets affected by HB 87 are residential North Central Texas Council of Governments 157
streets that are 35 feet or less in width. The Technical Workshop on HB 87 gave an opportunity for our member cities to exchange information, ideas, and lessons learned as they related to the implementation of HB 87. NCTCOG also continues to host and coordinate various safety-related subcommittees, task forces, and working groups such as the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) Subcommittee, the School Zone Policy Task Force, and the Mobility Assistance Patrol Coordination Working Group. The MUTCD Subcommittee is made up of transportation professionals and emergency responders from the North Central Texas region. The subcommittee was organized to discuss the effects of Chapter 6I Control of Traffic Through Traffic Incident Management Areas of the Texas MUTCD. The Texas MUTCD is incorporated by State Transportation Code 544.01 and is recognized as the Texas standard for all traffic control devices installed on any street, highway, or bicycle trail open to public travel. The subcommittee submitted a recommendation to TxDOT to change the time duration associated with its accepted incident classifications. The recommendations were accepted and adopted by TxDOT and are now included in the 2006 Texas MUTCD. The Subcommittee also submitted the same recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration to be included in the 2003 edition of the Federal MUTCD. The School Zone Policy Task Force is made up of transportation professionals, police representatives, and school district representatives from the North Central Texas region. One focus of the Task Force is to develop and prioritize a listing of issues related to operating, maintaining, evaluating, and enforcing school zones within the region and improving communications between school districts and transportation communities. A future goal of the Task Force is to develop a best practices manual for school zones in the North Central Texas region and improve the overall safety and efficiency of our regional school zones. The Mobility Assistance Patrol (MAP) Working Group is made up of transportation professionals, TxDOT representatives, North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) representatives, police representatives, and mobility assistance patrol representatives. This Working Group is responsible for evaluating the progress and effectiveness of the MAP program, evaluating existing MAP routes, and discussing the development of new MAP routes. A map of the future MAP routes may be found in the Intelligent Transportation Systems section of this plan. Freeway Incident Management Training for agencies responsible for managing and clearing traffic incidents has been demonstrated to improve responder and motorist safety, and to significantly reduce the length and size of roadway closures. Multiple agency training and rapid clearance of traffic incidents can potentially save hundreds of thousands of motorist hours every year. NCTCOG was the first agency in the nation to formalize incident management training for all responders in the region. The initial concept of the Freeway Incident Management (FIM) in the Dallas-Fort Worth North Central Texas Council of Governments 158
Area training courses was developed as part of two sub-regional Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) programs in the 1990s. The goal of FIM Training Courses is to initiate a common, coordinated response to traffic incidents that will build partnerships, enhance safety for emergency personnel, reduce upstream traffic accidents, improve the efficiency of the transportation system, and improve air quality in the Dallas- Fort Worth region. NCTCOG developed a set of two specific courses for first responders/managers and executive level policy-makers. Each course explains the goals, objectives, and benefits of multi-agency incident management coordination and training. The First Responders and Managers Course is specifically designed for individuals that have daily involvement in responding to traffic incidents on the region s freeway system. The two-day training course discusses best practice methods for incident management that are used throughout the country. Local incident management policy and procedures are also discussed. The First Responders and Managers Course is typically offered nine times per calendar year to area firefighters, police officers, emergency medical service providers, towing operators, and transportation agencies. The Executive Level Course is geared towards agency decision-makers and policy-makers. The two-hour Executive Level Course is typically offered twice a year one Spring course offering and one Fall course offering to agency policy makers, to include Regional Transportation Council members, county judges, mayors, county administrators, city managers, county sheriffs, police chiefs, fire chiefs, and transportation providers. NCTCOG has funded and implemented many safety related projects in the region. NCTCOG Implemented Projects: Thoroughfare Assessment Program (TAP) The purpose of this program is to audit selected thoroughfares, assess operational characteristics, estimate air quality benefits, and develop and implement recommended improvements. The TAP program allowed the region to maximize capacity of our existing system by implementing low cost capital improvements on selected thoroughfares. The improvements also enhance intersection safety, which includes signal coordination, signage, restriping, and pedestrian signals, to name a few. Safety improvements will be implemented at approximately 2,500 intersections. More information on the TAP can be found in the Transportation Management Systems section of this plan. Funds Allocated: $16.6 million Bottleneck Program NCTCOG collected data via aerial photo-surveys showing highway traffic performance. The surveys were conducted in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area. The purpose of the survey was to evaluate the performance of the freeway system. This information is used to identify potential locations for freeway bottleneck improvements, as well as major corridor needs. Bottleneck improvements are both mobility and safety problems. NCTCOG is identifying a funding source to implement bottleneck improvements through this data collection effort that are not currently in the Transportation Improvement Program or in corridors undergoing major investment North Central Texas Council of Governments 159
studies. More information on the Bottleneck Program can be found in the Transportation System Management section of this plan. Proposed Funding: $7 million Light-Emitting Diode Traffic Signal Replacement Program The goal of this program was to replace traditional incandescent bulbs in traffic signals with Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lamps. The replacement of traditional incandescent bulbs with LED lamps helps improve safety at intersections, enhances visibility, and reduces maintenance costs and efforts. It also provides energy conservation opportunities to local governments that translate into a reduction of ozone precursor pollutants such as Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emitted from electric power generator plants in the region. To date, over 88 percent of the traffic signals in the region have been converted to LED. By the end of 2007, over 90 percent of the region s traffic signals will be LED. Funds Allocated: $3 million Traffic Incident Management Training NCTCOG developed a set of incident management courses to initiate a common, coordinated response to traffic incidents that will build partnerships, enhance safety, improve the efficiency of the transportation system, and improve air quality in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Since the initial offering of this training series, over 630 emergency responders have completed the training. By 2030, it is estimated that over 7,100 emergency responders will have completed the training. Funds Allocated: $100,000/year NCTCOG Funded Local Agency Implemented Projects: Intelligent Transportation System Freeway and Arterial ITS projects implemented by Departments of Transportation and local agencies have helped to improve motorist safety by identifying incidents quickly, informing motorists of incidents ahead, and clearing incidents more quickly. More information on ITS can be found in the Intelligent Transportation Systems section of this plan. Funds Allocated: $175 million Traffic Signal and Intersection Improvement Projects Arterial traffic signal projects, such as signal coordination, signage, restriping, pedestrian signals, etc., implemented by other agencies have helped to enhance safety at intersections. More information on Traffic Signal and Intersection Improvement Projects can be found in the Transportation System Management section of this plan. Funds Allocated: $254 million Planned Transportation Safety Activities Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Safety Information System NCTCOG continues efforts to reduce injuries and fatalities and reduce incident clearance times on freeways and tollways. One aspect of the Transportation System Safety program is the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Safety Information System (RSIS). The RSIS will be a regional GIS-based crash information system that provides a centralized database for regional traffic crash data that will be used to identify North Central Texas Council of Governments 160
regional high crash site locations and possibly implement roadway projects. NCTCOG is coordinating with TxDOT, the Department of Public Safety, insurance companies, local governments, and other partners to develop strategies for data collection, analysis, and archiving of this needed data. Summary The primary goal of the Transportation System Safety Program is to improve transportation safety throughout the region by supporting planning efforts to develop safety policies, programs, and projects in the North Central Texas region related to pedestrians, bicycling, transit, roadways and highways. The policies, programs, and project recommendations discussed in this section are intended to improve the safety of the transportation system within the communities in the North Central Texas region. Anticipated benefits of an effective safety program include safer streets and intersections, reduced fatalities, improved mobility, and improved air quality. Environmental justice is taken into account in the planning and implementation of Transportation System Safety projects and programs. Safety programs should adhere to the programs as listed in Exhibit 13-1. Exhibit 13-1. TIP Reference Table Transportation System Safety Reference TSSF2000 TSSF3000 TSSF4000 TSSF5000 TSSF6000 TSSF7000 TSSF8000 TSSF9000 Description of Projects, Programs, and Policies Implement roadway safety improvements at hazardous locations and hot spots. Develop a regional GIS-based crash information system that is used to track crash hot spots. Implement projects/activities that will reduce incident clearance times for roadways. Implement projects/activities that will reduce injuries and/or fatalities. Initiate safety education and training courses. Provide a central location for local traffic crash data and make available to others. Conduct engineering studies to identify causal road factors in crash with recommendations for mitigation. Develop safety information partnerships with TxDOT, local governments, local police department, the Texas Transportation Institute, and other organizations. North Central Texas Council of Governments 161
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