No Surprise: Safety Is The Most Frequent Public Concern On U.S. 30
June 14, 2023 at 1:37 a.m.
No Surprise: Safety Is The Most Frequent Public Concern On U.S. 30
By David [email protected]
That’s followed by accessibility at 36% and better mobility at 25%.
Those figures were one of the findings reported Tuesday night at Indian Springs Middle School in Columbia City by engineering and consulting firm WSP during the last meeting of the second round of formal public meetings for the U.S. 30 East study area.
In an interview before the presentation, Shane Peck, communication lead for WSP, said the first two meetings were in December for the visioning stage of the study where the public was given the idea of what the study was all about and that they wanted to hear from people about their concerns on U.S. 30.
“Since that time, we’ve gathered additional public input and tonight we’re going to present what we heard from the public as far as what the perceivements are out there, and then we’ll also be presenting about the engineering and environmental assessments that we’ve done and the other research we’ve done to identify the needs from that standpoint,” he said.
The study is in the Purpose and Need phase now, so he said they were going to talk about the purpose of the study still and what they’ve discovered as far as what the needs are out there.
“What we’ve assessed lines up pretty well with what we’re hearing from the public, so safety, not surprisingly, is always a top priority for the public - traffic, speeds, trucks, large trucks, things like that we’re hearing quite a bit about. Intersections, folks have concerns about,” Peck said. “So we’re hearing that from the public, in addition to accessibility, wanting to maintain access to U.S. 30, or wanting to adjust access, make access better, and making sure it’s safe going forward. As well as mobility, which means being able to move throughout the corridor easily, conveniently and safely. And, again, that’s essentially what we’ve seen in our assessment.”
Peck said WSP did do crash analysis so their maps at the meeting Tuesday showed the high-frequency crash locations as well as comments they’ve heard up to this point. They also did traffic studies to look at how the traffic moves and the amount of traffic. They also looked a little into the environments along U.S. 30, which included businesses, homes, schools and anything within the footprint of the study area.
As for the next steps after the Purpose and Need phase, Peck said in the fall they will be looking at what’s called the “universal alternatives,” or a broad base of alternatives, based on what they heard from the public and what they’ve identified through their assessments. Those will then be narrowed down to what is more feasible going forward. In the spring, they’ll be back for more formal public meetings.
“That doesn’t mean there will be anything settled at that point. We’ll just say these look like the best alternatives up to this point in the study and we’ll get feedback on that from the public,” Peck said.
He said they’re looking at four study areas - U.S. 30 East and West and U.S. 31 North and South - covering 180 miles.
“So, there’s limited resources. So that’s a big reason why we need to hone in on what are the absolute best alternatives in all of these study areas, that is most cost efficient and going to improve safety and mobility and accessibility,” Peck said.
After the list of options are narrowed in spring 2024, he said those will be reviewed and go into the final phase in November 2024, which will be the final recommendations based on what they looked at with the alternatives in the spring.
“There won’t be a firm ‘here’s what we’re going to do,’” Peck said. There will be plenty of opportunities for public input between now and the end of the study.
A heat map in the draft Purpose and Need report for the U.S. 30 East study area showed many crashes, many of them severe, in the Warsaw area, as well as Columbia City. Peck said anytime you get closer to urban areas where there’s more people, you’re going to see more crashes. The severity may vary depend on whether you’re driving on open road or at slower speeds.
“It’s not surprising to see more crashes in the areas where there’s more population,” he said, although one doesn’t want to see any crashes.
They started doing traffic studies back in December.
“We’re not seeing a huge increase in traffic. I know there’s perceptions from the public and that’s what people feel like they’re experiencing, is more truck traffic, and there is a slight increase in all truck traffic,” Peck said. “Speed data shows that, for the most part, people are driving at or under the speed limits, which is also different from what the public perceives, but that doesn’t mean that’s not accurate what they’re perceiving as someone flies by them on the road. That’s what they feel.”
Projecting out to 2045, their studies indicate a steady growth in the traffic.
During the presentation Tuesday, a video of Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Smith was played. He said, to date, about 1,750 people have interacted with these ProPELUS30 and ProPELUS31 studies in one way or another. They’ve also received more than 1,300 comments from residents, business owners and other stakeholders.
“Your engagement has been, and will continue to be, a vital part of this study. With your input, we can ProPEL Indiana to continued growth and prosperity, while carefully balancing the needs of our local communities. Together, we can create a smarter transportation network that builds stronger communities in Indiana,” he said.
Smith explained that ProPEL is a “collaborative effort that is intentionally designed to be inclusive, giving community members a distinct voice in the planning of future projects.”
After the video, Peck said more than 900 community members have engaged in the study in a variety of ways and that’s just within the U.S. 30 East study area. There’s been three public meetings, with two of them in December in-person and one a virtual meeting; 16 community office hours; and community outreach events.
He said they’ve received 582 public comments just for the U.S. 30 East study area. While they focused on a variety of topics, the three most frequently mentioned were safety concerns at 37%, 36% accessibility and 25% expressed a desire for better mobility when traveling throughout the corridor.
Bryan Kapala, deputy project manager with WSP, said over the past several months they’ve been evaluating transportation data and other information to understand the issues and identify the needs that need to be addressed. They collected intersection traffic counts and evaluated their performance, evaluated crash and speed data and documented existing environmental conditions.
“So your input and the evaluation of the data are what we use to determine the transportation issues and the desired outcomes,” Kapala said.
He said they found that between 2017 and 2021, more than 2,700 crashes occurred somewhere in the study area. There are 65 locations with a higher frequency and/or severity of crashes than on average.
“The majority of crashes - 61% - are rear-end and runoff road type of crashes. And of the more severe crashes that have involved injury, 70% of those occurred in urban areas, including Warsaw and Columbia City,” he said.
Crashes are not only a safety concern, he said, but they also disrupt the flow of traffic and affect the reliability and efficiency of traffic along the corridor.
“Based on the five-year crash data, on average, crashes have occurred on 265 days of the year somewhere along the 58 miles of the study area. And this translates to a 73% likelihood that one or more crashes have occurred on any given day,” he said.
The public has expressed concerns with speeding on U.S. 30. Kapala said they’ve evaluated speed data along the corridor to assess how well it’s moving relative to posted speed limits.
“We analyzed over 1.5 million GPS-based speed records and found that, on average, speeds are about 54 mph in the corridor, or about 8% below the posted speed limits. In urban areas, such as Warsaw and Columbia City, the travel speeds are trending about 20-23% below posted speed limits,” he stated.
On access points in the U.S. 30 East study area, he said there are 189 of them, consisting of 80 driveways, 67 stop-control intersections, 24 signalized intersections and 18 field entrances.
“And as part of the next steps, the study team will be reviewing the existing access to identify ways to improve or consolidate access to reduce the number of conflict points, improve traffic flow and increase safety,” Kapala said.
With any of the access consolidation strategies, he said they will need to balance safety and regional mobility needs with local access and circulation needs.
On traffic flow, of the 29 major intersections they evaluated, 12 are expected to receive failing grades by 2045. “And these poor grades are primarily associated with local traffic that is looking to access, cross or turn left from U.S. 30,” he said.
In general, traffic that is moving along U.S. 30 gets mostly passing grades.
With trucks making up about 20% of existing traffic volumes, Indiana has designated U.S. 30 as a statewide mobility corridor and it plays a key role in providing regional and statewide mobility across Indiana, he said. Freight is expected to increase in this area between 50-60% by 2045 and U.S. 30 will play a prominent role in supporting that growth.
Rusty Holt, study manager with WSP, wrapped up the presentation by reviewing the six goals that have been identified for the U.S. 30 East study, providing a timeline for what’s next and stating that all possibilities are still on the table. He encouraged people to visit www.ProPELUS30.com for more information, including a video of Tuesday night’s meeting.
That’s followed by accessibility at 36% and better mobility at 25%.
Those figures were one of the findings reported Tuesday night at Indian Springs Middle School in Columbia City by engineering and consulting firm WSP during the last meeting of the second round of formal public meetings for the U.S. 30 East study area.
In an interview before the presentation, Shane Peck, communication lead for WSP, said the first two meetings were in December for the visioning stage of the study where the public was given the idea of what the study was all about and that they wanted to hear from people about their concerns on U.S. 30.
“Since that time, we’ve gathered additional public input and tonight we’re going to present what we heard from the public as far as what the perceivements are out there, and then we’ll also be presenting about the engineering and environmental assessments that we’ve done and the other research we’ve done to identify the needs from that standpoint,” he said.
The study is in the Purpose and Need phase now, so he said they were going to talk about the purpose of the study still and what they’ve discovered as far as what the needs are out there.
“What we’ve assessed lines up pretty well with what we’re hearing from the public, so safety, not surprisingly, is always a top priority for the public - traffic, speeds, trucks, large trucks, things like that we’re hearing quite a bit about. Intersections, folks have concerns about,” Peck said. “So we’re hearing that from the public, in addition to accessibility, wanting to maintain access to U.S. 30, or wanting to adjust access, make access better, and making sure it’s safe going forward. As well as mobility, which means being able to move throughout the corridor easily, conveniently and safely. And, again, that’s essentially what we’ve seen in our assessment.”
Peck said WSP did do crash analysis so their maps at the meeting Tuesday showed the high-frequency crash locations as well as comments they’ve heard up to this point. They also did traffic studies to look at how the traffic moves and the amount of traffic. They also looked a little into the environments along U.S. 30, which included businesses, homes, schools and anything within the footprint of the study area.
As for the next steps after the Purpose and Need phase, Peck said in the fall they will be looking at what’s called the “universal alternatives,” or a broad base of alternatives, based on what they heard from the public and what they’ve identified through their assessments. Those will then be narrowed down to what is more feasible going forward. In the spring, they’ll be back for more formal public meetings.
“That doesn’t mean there will be anything settled at that point. We’ll just say these look like the best alternatives up to this point in the study and we’ll get feedback on that from the public,” Peck said.
He said they’re looking at four study areas - U.S. 30 East and West and U.S. 31 North and South - covering 180 miles.
“So, there’s limited resources. So that’s a big reason why we need to hone in on what are the absolute best alternatives in all of these study areas, that is most cost efficient and going to improve safety and mobility and accessibility,” Peck said.
After the list of options are narrowed in spring 2024, he said those will be reviewed and go into the final phase in November 2024, which will be the final recommendations based on what they looked at with the alternatives in the spring.
“There won’t be a firm ‘here’s what we’re going to do,’” Peck said. There will be plenty of opportunities for public input between now and the end of the study.
A heat map in the draft Purpose and Need report for the U.S. 30 East study area showed many crashes, many of them severe, in the Warsaw area, as well as Columbia City. Peck said anytime you get closer to urban areas where there’s more people, you’re going to see more crashes. The severity may vary depend on whether you’re driving on open road or at slower speeds.
“It’s not surprising to see more crashes in the areas where there’s more population,” he said, although one doesn’t want to see any crashes.
They started doing traffic studies back in December.
“We’re not seeing a huge increase in traffic. I know there’s perceptions from the public and that’s what people feel like they’re experiencing, is more truck traffic, and there is a slight increase in all truck traffic,” Peck said. “Speed data shows that, for the most part, people are driving at or under the speed limits, which is also different from what the public perceives, but that doesn’t mean that’s not accurate what they’re perceiving as someone flies by them on the road. That’s what they feel.”
Projecting out to 2045, their studies indicate a steady growth in the traffic.
During the presentation Tuesday, a video of Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Smith was played. He said, to date, about 1,750 people have interacted with these ProPELUS30 and ProPELUS31 studies in one way or another. They’ve also received more than 1,300 comments from residents, business owners and other stakeholders.
“Your engagement has been, and will continue to be, a vital part of this study. With your input, we can ProPEL Indiana to continued growth and prosperity, while carefully balancing the needs of our local communities. Together, we can create a smarter transportation network that builds stronger communities in Indiana,” he said.
Smith explained that ProPEL is a “collaborative effort that is intentionally designed to be inclusive, giving community members a distinct voice in the planning of future projects.”
After the video, Peck said more than 900 community members have engaged in the study in a variety of ways and that’s just within the U.S. 30 East study area. There’s been three public meetings, with two of them in December in-person and one a virtual meeting; 16 community office hours; and community outreach events.
He said they’ve received 582 public comments just for the U.S. 30 East study area. While they focused on a variety of topics, the three most frequently mentioned were safety concerns at 37%, 36% accessibility and 25% expressed a desire for better mobility when traveling throughout the corridor.
Bryan Kapala, deputy project manager with WSP, said over the past several months they’ve been evaluating transportation data and other information to understand the issues and identify the needs that need to be addressed. They collected intersection traffic counts and evaluated their performance, evaluated crash and speed data and documented existing environmental conditions.
“So your input and the evaluation of the data are what we use to determine the transportation issues and the desired outcomes,” Kapala said.
He said they found that between 2017 and 2021, more than 2,700 crashes occurred somewhere in the study area. There are 65 locations with a higher frequency and/or severity of crashes than on average.
“The majority of crashes - 61% - are rear-end and runoff road type of crashes. And of the more severe crashes that have involved injury, 70% of those occurred in urban areas, including Warsaw and Columbia City,” he said.
Crashes are not only a safety concern, he said, but they also disrupt the flow of traffic and affect the reliability and efficiency of traffic along the corridor.
“Based on the five-year crash data, on average, crashes have occurred on 265 days of the year somewhere along the 58 miles of the study area. And this translates to a 73% likelihood that one or more crashes have occurred on any given day,” he said.
The public has expressed concerns with speeding on U.S. 30. Kapala said they’ve evaluated speed data along the corridor to assess how well it’s moving relative to posted speed limits.
“We analyzed over 1.5 million GPS-based speed records and found that, on average, speeds are about 54 mph in the corridor, or about 8% below the posted speed limits. In urban areas, such as Warsaw and Columbia City, the travel speeds are trending about 20-23% below posted speed limits,” he stated.
On access points in the U.S. 30 East study area, he said there are 189 of them, consisting of 80 driveways, 67 stop-control intersections, 24 signalized intersections and 18 field entrances.
“And as part of the next steps, the study team will be reviewing the existing access to identify ways to improve or consolidate access to reduce the number of conflict points, improve traffic flow and increase safety,” Kapala said.
With any of the access consolidation strategies, he said they will need to balance safety and regional mobility needs with local access and circulation needs.
On traffic flow, of the 29 major intersections they evaluated, 12 are expected to receive failing grades by 2045. “And these poor grades are primarily associated with local traffic that is looking to access, cross or turn left from U.S. 30,” he said.
In general, traffic that is moving along U.S. 30 gets mostly passing grades.
With trucks making up about 20% of existing traffic volumes, Indiana has designated U.S. 30 as a statewide mobility corridor and it plays a key role in providing regional and statewide mobility across Indiana, he said. Freight is expected to increase in this area between 50-60% by 2045 and U.S. 30 will play a prominent role in supporting that growth.
Rusty Holt, study manager with WSP, wrapped up the presentation by reviewing the six goals that have been identified for the U.S. 30 East study, providing a timeline for what’s next and stating that all possibilities are still on the table. He encouraged people to visit www.ProPELUS30.com for more information, including a video of Tuesday night’s meeting.
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