SCAG Receives $12 Million in Grants to Develop a Roadway Safety Plan
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has been awarded $12 million to develop a regional action plan to improve roadway safety, expand its popular Go Human program and help local jurisdictions reduce or eliminate serious injuries and fatalities.
The Planning and Demonstration Grant is one of the largest of its kind being awarded this year by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
The money will be used to develop a Regional Safety Action Plan for the six counties within the SCAG region (Imperial, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange and Ventura), home to nearly 19 million people and some of the busiest, and most dangerous, roadways and arterials in the United States. On average, more than four people are killed and 16 people are seriously injured every day within the region. People walking or riding bikes account for 32 percent of those deaths and serious injuries, despite comprising only 3 percent of all trips.
The grant funds also will be used to expand SCAG’s Go Human program, including the piloting of local safety campaigns and Complete Streets pop-up demonstration activities, and funding up to 15 mini-grants to community-based organizations. Go Human was launched in 2015 in an effort to reduce collisions, improve safety for people walking and biking, and raise awareness of the importance of traffic safety.
A third element of the DOT grant will support the piloting of quick-build demonstration activities through a competitive Call for Applications using an equity-centered prioritization methodology.
“I’d like to thank Transportation Secretary Buttigieg and the DOT for making this funding available for our region. We also appreciate the support from Senator Alex Padilla and Representatives Julia Brownley, Grace Napolitano, and Pete Aguilar in securing this critical funding for street safety improvements across our region. This will allow us to build on the work that SCAG staff has done over the years, in collaboration with our local jurisdictions, to make our roads, sidewalks and crossings safer for everyone and to address the most significant risks that exist at the community level,” said Kome Ajise, Executive Director of SCAG.
As the largest metropolitan planning organization in the U.S., SCAG undertakes a variety of planning and policy initiatives, including the development of a Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (Connect SoCal) every four years. The draft Connect SoCal 2024, currently out for public review, identifies $750 billion in transportation improvements for the six counties over the next quarter-century.
For more on Connect SoCal, visit scag.ca.gov/connect-socal.