ADA COUNTY, Idaho — Data from the Idaho Transportation Department shows there have been five fatal car crashes involving pedestrians in Ada County this year.
To try and bring that number down, the Ada County Highway District (ACHD) created a new Safety Team to assess and prioritize solving problems on the roadways.
ACHD commissioners approved the creation of the Safety Team last Wednesday.
"To proactively address safety, and address some of the concerns that we've had as we've seen an increase in crashes over the last number of months and year," Ryan Head, deputy director of development and technical services for ACHD said.
ACHD will add five full-time staff members to the team, which will also be comprised of some existing staff positions. The Safety Team will be responsible for an intersection-by-intersection safety audit to see what can be done to reduce crashes.
"Going to each intersection, looking at what can we do that would make it safer here for vehicles, bikes, pedestrians - for all users at that intersection," Head said. "We're looking at operational changes. Can you change the paint? Can you change the signage? Can you do other things?"
The team will also work to fill sidewalk gaps while streets are being chip sealed.
"These areas where there's a sidewalk, then nothing, then a sidewalk and nothing," Head said. "What you may end up having is a pedestrian - even children on bikes - the only way they could get there is by going into the street. Having people in the street with the vehicles, obviously that's not the preferred environment. So by adding a sidewalk, we can reduce the likelihood that there would be a crash."
Joe Jaszewski is the chair of ACHD's Pedestrian Advisory Group, citizen volunteers who meet and discuss pedestrian accessibility and safety. The group helps advise the ACHD commission on things that can be done to improve roadway safety.
"For kids getting to school, or people just walking down the street to go to the store or visit a friend - it's pretty dangerous when you're sharing a roadway with cars," Jaszewski said.
In March, Jaszewski gave a presentation to ACHD commissioners requesting a program to address sidewalk gaps - which are often on older streets that were built during a time when sidewalks weren't required.
"It was just a time when people weren't thinking necessarily about pedestrian access," Jaszewski said. "Sort of the assumption in the 50's and 60's was everybody would drive everywhere. And certainly a lot of people drive places, but people also need to get places on foot."
ACHD plans on having their Safety Team fully staffed by the end of the year. They expect to jump into action by picking projects and making changes throughout 2024.
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