WA saw highest traffic fatalities in 30 years in 2022. Is $9 million enough to help fix it?
The Washington state Department of Transportation has awarded over $9 million in federal grants to city, county and regional councils toward helping to reverse a statewide increase in traffic fatalities.
United States Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who chairs the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, announced Monday that the grants would support the Safe Streets and Roads for All program.
Cantwell said the program’s purpose is to improve transportation safety planning and save lives, noting that there were more than 745 vehicle-related deaths in Washington State in 2022. That’s the most in any year in the last three decades.
Cities can use the funds to develop or complete an action plan, which includes conducting public outreach, safety analysis, making changes to city policy or processes, and collaborating with the public to develop an action plan.
The Safe Streets and Roads for All program was part of the transportation investments included in the $550 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act first introduced in 2021. Over the next five years, $5 billion nationwide will be appropriated to the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which will help fund and develop comprehensive safety plans to limit traffic fatalities. The city of Seattle will also get over $25.6 million to fund miles of bicycle lanes, sidewalks and other improvements.
The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration describes a vehicle fatality as a death in which a vehicle is involved while on a publicly-accessible roadway.
Which WA communities get traffic safety grants?
Cantwell announced a total of $9,198,763 will be awarded to Washington communities in the latest round of grants:
1. City of Ellensburg - $160,000
2. City of Lacey - $68,000
3. City of Montesano - $200,000
4. City of Toppenish - $80,000
5. Grant County - $280,000
6. King County - $800,000
7. Kittitas County - $429,504
8. Thurston County - $264,000
9. Walla Walla County - $201,696
10. Whatcom Council of Governments - $200,000
11. Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments - $200,000
12. Island Regional Planning Organization – $403,200
13. Northeast Washington Regional Transportation Planning Organization - $352,000
14. Puget Sound Regional Council - $4,860,363
15. Spokane Regional Transportation Council - $400,000
16.Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council - $300,000
