Metropolitan Kansas City's
Long-Range Transportation Plan

vehicle crash with emergency responder

Goal: Safety & Security

Improve safety and security for all transportation users

The quality and function the region's transportation system relies on the overall safety of the system and its parts. Over the last three years, the Kansas City region has averaged 58,923 crashes, 18,680 injuries and 233 deaths per year. The region aims to decrease serious injury and fatality crashes of all types.

Security also plays an important role in transportation — maintaining and managing transportation facilities, as well as the use and response of the system during emergencies to keep the region's residents secure.

 

 

Strategies

1. Enforce traffic safety laws and their penalties.

Identifying Safety IssuesIdentifying safety issues
Regional crash-mapping software maps roadway crash data from KDOT and MoDOT, which helps direct resources to "hot spots."

2. Educate the public about traffic engineering and safety issues.

Safety EducationSafety education
Trained Safety Ambassadors teach children how to be responsible pedestrians and bicyclists, giving them fundamental safety skills.

3. Maintain the equipment and training of emergency responders.

Preparing for EmergenciesPreparing for emergencies
The region's emergency responders regularly train for man-made and natural disasters, like this mass-casualty exercise at Kansas City International Airport in June 2006.

4. Engineer the transportation system for safety.

EEngineering Improvementsngineering improvements
This single-point urban interchange at 87th St. and I-35 in Lenexa moves large volumes of traffic more safely and efficiently than the previous design, and it is controlled by only one set of traffic signals.

keeping an eye on roads
Cameras can help analysts monitor traffic and address roadway incidents more quickly.

Comments

"Bike lanes can be dangerous, but they do promote awareness. Many people are not fully aware of the plausibility of non-auto transportation."

"Safety and engineering can help to avoid problems."

"Safety and not letting people on for free needs to be a priority on current and future transportation."

{Text}
{Label:reply} {Label:delete} {Label:moderate}
{Label:leaveComment}
{Label:nicknameLabel} {Label:emailLabel} {Label:emailNote}
{Label:openidLogin} [{Label:logout}]
{Label:openidLogin}
{Label:openidNote}
[{Label:more}]
(Powered by JS-Kit)

Performance Factors

  • Crash Fatality and Disabling Injuries

Challenges

  • Inability to affect some causes of crashes and injuries.
  • Cross jurisdictional.
  • Planning objectives and time horizons differ across jurisdiction.