Challenge

Between 2018 and 2022, Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry Counties recorded 274 traffic fatalities and 1,177 suspected serious injuries. Each of these crashes represented a life lost or forever changed, underscoring the urgency for action. The Harrisburg Area Transportation Study (HATS) sought to reduce these numbers and applied for federal Safe Streets and Roads for All Safety Action Plan grant funding to guide its next steps.

Solution

Effective safety action plans combine technical analysis with local insight. Kittelson worked with HATS to design a process that balanced both. The plan identified emphasis areas using PennDOT’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan and a test of proportions, with a focus on lane departures, impaired driving, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

The team developed a high injury network using Highway Safety Manual methods as well as the vulnerable road user high-risk areas we previously identified for PennDOT in order to better understand where safety investments could have the greatest impact. Kittelson also conducted a systemic analysis of curves on two-lane roads across the three counties to determine critical sections where low-cost safety improvements could be implemented quickly. Finally, PennDOT’s highway safety network screening tool was applied to select five priority sites for spot-specific improvements.

These technical findings were paired with guidance from a 20+ member safety working group as well as a comprehensive public engagement process that emphasized underserved communities. The final safety action plan presented a range of recommendations that included engineering countermeasures, road safety audits, education initiatives, enforcement strategies, and technology enhancements. One recommendation, a Sober Ride Home pilot program aimed at reducing impaired driving, was put into action immediately following the plan’s adoption.