Safety and Security Planning
Regional Safety Action Plan
GVMC is dedicated to improving transportation safety across the region. Each year more than 40,000 people die in traffic crashes in the US, and in the last five years, there have been an average of 61 traffic deaths per year in the GVMC region. GVMC is working with our Safety Committee and other partners to develop a Regional Safety Action Plan identifying projects and strategies to reduce (and eventually eliminate) traffic deaths and serious injuries.
Learn more about the project and how to get involved by visiting the RSAP webpage: www.gvmc-rsap.org.
Report a Near-Miss Incident or Location of Traffic Safety Concern
Have you experienced a “near-miss” incident or observed repeated traffic safety issues at a certain location? The Grand Valley Metropolitan Council (GVMC) has created a tool to anonymously report these traffic safety concerns. The collected information will supplement existing safety data and help us better identify and understand traffic safety issues in the region.
Please note that this tool is for data collection and information purposes only. Data trends will be shared and discussed with MPO jurisdictions and regional partners. MPO staff and local jurisdictions will not be responding to reports on an individual basis.
IMPORTANT: If you were involved in a crash, please report it to your local law enforcement agency. If you would like to submit a maintenance request or other non-safety traffic concerns, please report those to your local public works department or road commission.
GVMC Safety Education and Outreach
GVMC has started a safety education and outreach program to educate all users of our transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists, about ways to stay safe AND visible while on the road.
Click the image to the left to learn more about GVMC’s safety education and outreach program and to view all of our valuable resources, including videos, printable materials, free promotional items, and more, or check out our PSAs below.
If you have questions about GVMC’s safety education and outreach program, please email Andrea Faber or call 616.776.7603.
One text, selfie, or call could wreck it all. This video serves as a reminder of the dangers of taking your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, and your mind off the task at hand—driving, when you’re in the driver’s seat.
Wearing light, bright, or reflective clothing and carrying a light can help make you more visible to drivers, bicyclists, and others sharing the roadway. Staying seen helps keep you safe.
Using a bike light helps drivers and others sharing the roadway to see you, and staying seen helps keep you safe. Remember to use a white light on the front of your bike and a red light or reflector on the rear when biking at night. It’s the law.
Traffic Safety Planning
GVMC has been pushing to evaluate investments in programs like safety so we can identify impacts and improvements for our efforts. As such, we created an MPO Crash Summary Dashboard that displays incidents that have occurred in our MPO area over a five-year span (2019-2023). With multiple filter and export options, we’ve developed this tool to allow for a speedy analysis that is driven by the user’s specified needs.
*Click on the map image below to launch the Interactive Condition Map containing the region’s latest crash data provided by Michigan Traffic Crash Facts.
Traffic crashes are a leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths in Michigan and across the country. Traffic crashes produce not only personal tragedy, but increased burdens on the region due to medical and insurance costs, lost production potential, and delay of passengers and freight.
GVMC takes a proactive approach to addressing safety concerns on the Federal Aid road network. GVMC tries to integrate safety considerations into the transportation planning processes at all levels.
A Regional Traffic Safety Plan is a locally-coordinated effort that assists local agencies in taking a proactive stance in reducing and preventing local road fatalities and injuries. The traffic safety plan provides an opportunity to improve relationships among stakeholders by working through a collaborative process, which results in improved road safety benefiting everyone. The purpose of creating the Traffic Safety Plan is to identify the unique issues and assist with making informed safety investment decisions to reduce fatalities and serious injuries for all road users.
West Michigan Traffic Safety Plan
Federal Safety Performance Measures
Currently, under the FAST Act, State DOT’s and MPO’s are required to establish performance targets and report on the progress made toward achieving each of these performance targets. The safety performance measures are listed below:
Total number of traffic related fatalities on all public roads
Rate of traffic related fatalities on all public roads per 100 million VMT
Total number of traffic related serious injuries on all public roads
Rate of traffic related serious injuries on all public roads per 100 million VMT
Total number of non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads
Local Safety Projects
The Grand Valley Metro Council encourages its members to apply for Federal funding using local safety funds. Local safety projects are endorsed by the Grand Valley Metro Council before submittal to MDOT; however, projects are not prioritized in any order. Eligible projects may include replacement, installation or elimination of guardrail, traffic signal installation and upgrades, horizontal and vertical curve corrections, sight distance and drainage improvements, bridge railing replacement or retrofit, approach guardrail, and roadway intersection improvements to improve safety and/or capacity. The Michigan Department of Transportation accepts applications for local safety programs on a yearly basis. However, not all projects will be funded. The following projects were endorsed by the Grand Valley Metro Council and received safety funding:
2017 & 2018 Programed Safety Projects
Tips For Getting Your HSIP Project Funded
Additional Information
Michigan Traffic Crash Facts: Publications
Michigan Traffic Crash Facts: Data Query Tool
For more information on safety planning contact George Yang.
Security Planning
Increasing the security of the transportation system for motorized and non-motorized users is one of the planning factors that must be considered as part of the regional transportation planning process. As a result, GVMC has incorporated security in the MTP goals and objectives and participated in regional Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) efforts. GVMC also coordinates with various safety and security agencies through the MTP and TIP development consultation processes.
Regional Security Planning Resources
In 2017 Kent and Ottawa Counties joined efforts to update their comprehensive Hazard Mitigation Plan, which includes transportation-related hazards. Click the picture below to review this valuable resource.
