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    SKATS MTSAP

    Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study (SKATS) Metropolitan Transportation Safety Action Plan (MTSAP)

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  • This online open house is now closed. The content is still available to view, but we are no longer accepting submissions. Thank you for participating!

  • Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study, or SKATS, is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation in the Salem-Keizer area. We’re drafting a plan to make driving, walking, biking and rolling safer in Salem-Keizer. It’s called the Metropolitan Transportation Safety Action Plan, or MTSAP.

    In an online open house in 2023, we asked what transportation safety aspects are most important to you, how safe you feel on area roads, and what specific experiences you’ve had. Thank you to everyone who participated!

    In addition to your input, we’ve analyzed crash data, determined the types of safety problems (aka emphasis areas) that should be the focus of the plan, set an ambitious goal for eliminating fatal and serious injury crashes, and worked with local and state experts on the list of priority strategies to make our transportation facilities safer for everyone.

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  • In this online open house, we’re sharing what we heard from you last time and what you helped us shape — the plan’s emphasis areas, goals, approach and strategies. We’ll ask if you think we are on the right track and tell you what comes next.

    You can go directly to each page by using the navigation buttons at the top of each page or click "Next" to move through the pages in order.

  • What We Heard 

  • In the online open house in 2023, close to 800 community members responded and said they:

    • Generally feel safe driving but feel unsafe walking, bicycling and rolling — especially crossing busy streets or intersections.
    • Generally feel safe riding the bus, though about half don’t feel safe traveling to and waiting at bus stops.
    • Are concerned about a lack of enforcement and the amount of risky, illegal driving such as speeding, disregarding traffic signs and signals, distraction, aggressiveness or not sharing the road with people using other ways to get around.
    • Were either involved in a crash, narrowly avoided a crash, described when they felt unsafe while traveling, or suggested their solutions to improve safety.

    The most common suggestions people had for improving safety were:

    • Reducing speeds through enforcement, education, better road design and lower speed limits.
    • Building more sidewalks and bicycle lanes, better crosswalks, and protected or separated bike paths.

  • Interactive comment map of Salem-Keizer area during commenting period. Map shows highlighted locations of safety concerns with icons indicating types of issues.

    This comment map was used in the first online open house to collect geographic-specific safety concerns in the Salem-Keizer area. Each icon represents a type of concern and can be selected to view any comments made about the safety concern. Comments are now closed.
    View the full interactive version open in new tab icon in a new tab.

  • What’s in the MTSAP

  • Your feedback was invaluable as we drafted the MTSAP’s focus areas, goals and approach.

  • Focus areas:

    The MTSAP has six safety focus areas, (called “Emphasis Areas” in the plan):

    • Intersections
    • Pedestrians (making walking and rolling safer)
    • Bicycling (making biking safer)
    • Speeding
    • Impairment and disctraction
    • Road users' age

    These focus areas represent both contributing factors to crashes, plus where and to whom fatal and serious injuries are occurring. They also represent the priorities of the community, the steering committee and the project management team. These focus areas will guide strategies and projects to make the biggest safety improvements.

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  • Goal of the Plan

    The Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study (SKATS) partners are working together to create the safest transportation system possible and establish a culture of safety where every life counts and one death is too many. We envision a region with zero crash-related deaths and life-changing injuries by 2035, and a 50% reduction in these crashes by 2030.

  • The Safe System Approach served as the guiding framework for every stage of this MTSAP. The principles and objectives of the Safe System Approach are outlined below:

    • Death and serious injuries are unacceptable.
    • Humans make mistakes.
    • Humans are vulnerable.
    • Responsibility is shared.
    • Safety is proactive.
    • Redundancy is crucial.

  • Circular diagram illustrating the Safe System Approach. Outer band lists six principles: Death and serious injuries are unacceptable, humans make mistakes, humans are vulnerable, responsibility is shared, safety is proactive, and redundancy is crucial. Inner circle has five sections: Safer vehicles, safer speeds, safer roads, post-crash care, and safer people.

    The diagram represents the Safe System Approach inculding the key principals and objectives.

  • Safe System Approach

    The Safe System Approach open in new tab icon represents a shift in road safety philosophy, prioritizing the protection of human life above all else with the goal of eliminating crashes that cause death and serious injuries. This multi-angle approach recognizes that humans make mistakes and aims to create a transportation system designed with that in mind to avoid crashes that result in death or serious injuries. The Safe System Approach is used by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Oregon Department of Transportation, and by local and regional governments around the world.

  • Our Strategies

  • Along with principles, the Safe System Approach has five objectives — things to accomplish. We drafted strategies based on these three objectives:

    • Safer people: Encourage safe, responsible driving and behavior and create conditions that prioritize people reaching their destinations unharmed.
    • Safer roads: Design roads to mitigate human mistakes, account for injury tolerances, encourage safer behaviors and facilitate safe travel by the most vulnerable people.
    • Safer speeds: Promote safer speeds on all roads through a combination of thoughtful, equitable, context-appropriate design, appropriate speed limits, targeted education, outreach campaigns and enforcement.

    From a starting list of more than 125 strategies, we narrowed it down to 16 priority strategies, listed in the table below. Not all our member agencies can implement all of them, but we can make progress. Transforming ideas into tangible results is crucial to achieving our goal of eliminating fatal and serious transportation-related injuries in Salem-Keizer.

  • List of Priority Strategies

    Strategy Focus/Emphasis Area Safe System Approach Objective Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types)
    Install Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) or similar person-activated beacons at enhanced crossings. Walking and rolling Safer roads 10-56% (crashes harming people walking or rolling)
    Install median refuge islands to reduce crossing distances. Walking and rolling Safer roads 26-31% (crashes harming people walking or rolling)
    Continue support for Safe Routes to School programs. Walking and rolling, Bicycling, Road-user age Safer people, Safer roads n/a
    Expand the network of buffered bicycle lanes, protected bicycle lanes and multi-use paths. Bicycling Safer roads 36-59% (crashes harming people bicycling)
    Install or upgrade street lighting along roads and at intersections. Bicycling, Walking and rolling Safer roads, Safer speeds 28-42% (all nighttime crashes)
    Install leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs) at intersections with traffic signals (adding an earlier signal phase for people walking and rolling, so they cross before people driving take off). Intersections, Walking and rolling Safer roads 37-45% (crashes harming people walking or rolling)
    Install pedestrian countdown timers (PCTs) and accessible push-buttons at intersections with traffic signals. Intersections, Walking and rolling Safer roads 70% (crashes harming people walking or rolling)
    Install green pavement markings to increase awareness of bicycle-lanes and reduce motor-vehicle/bicycle conflicts. Intersections, Bicycling Safer roads 35-39% (crashes harming people bicycling)
    Narrow lane widths to encourage slower speeds, where feasible. Speeding Safer roads, Safer speeds n/a
    Implement speed enforcement programs (what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls "High Visibility Enforcement," or HVE). Speeding Safer roads, Safer speeds n/a
    Install automated speed enforcement cameras. Speeding, Intersections Safer speeds n/a
    Maintain and refine the SKATS Safety (Crash) Dashboards and High Injury Network Mapping available to the public and member agencies. Cross-cutting — planning and collaboration (a SKATS regional effort, complimenting the Safe Systems Approach) SS4A - Analysis and Collaboration n/a
    Establish an interagency safety committee. Cross-cutting — planning and collaboration (a SKATS internal effort, complimenting the Safe Systems Approach) SS4A - Analysis and Collaboration n/a
    Improve visibility of traffic lights and signs. Use high-visibility road markings and lane lines. Road-user age; Impairment-Distraction Safer Roads, Safer People 20-30% (all crashes)
    Align updated crosswalks with bus stops and improve accessibility to stops. Walking and rolling Safer Roads, Safer People n/a
    Create an educational campaign targeting prevention of risky and illegal driver behaviors such as speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, and drowsy driving. Impairment and distraction Safer Speeds, Safer People n/a

  • Tell us your thoughts

  • Strategy Install Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) or similar person-activated beacons at enhanced crossings.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Walking and rolling
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer roads
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) 10-56% (crashes harming people walking or rolling)
    Strategy Install median refuge islands to reduce crossing distances.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Walking and rolling
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer roads
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) 26-31% (crashes harming people walking or rolling)
    Strategy Continue support for Safe Routes to School programs.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Walking and rolling, Bicycling, Road-user age
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer people, Safer roads
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) n/a
    Strategy Expand the network of buffered bicycle lanes, protected bicycle lanes and multi-use paths.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Bicycling
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer roads
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) 36-59% (crashes harming people bicycling)
    Strategy Install or upgrade street lighting along roads and at intersections.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Bicycling, Walking and rolling
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer roads, Safer speeds
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) 28-42% (all nighttime crashes)
    Strategy Install leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs) at intersections with traffic signals (adding an earlier signal phase for people walking and rolling, so they cross before people driving take off).
    Focus/Emphasis Area Intersections, Walking and rolling
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer roads
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) 37-45% (crashes harming people walking or rolling)
    Strategy Install pedestrian countdown timers (PCTs) and accessible push-buttons at intersections with traffic signals.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Intersections, Walking and rolling
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer roads
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) 70% (crashes harming people walking or rolling)
    Strategy Install green pavement markings to increase awareness of bicycle-lanes and reduce motor-vehicle/bicycle conflicts.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Intersections, Bicycling
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer roads
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) 35-39% (crashes harming people bicycling)
    Strategy Narrow lane widths to encourage slower speeds, where feasible.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Speeding
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer roads, Safer speeds
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) n/a
    Strategy Implement speed enforcement programs (what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls "High Visibility Enforcement," or HVE).
    Focus/Emphasis Area Speeding
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer roads, Safer speeds
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) n/a
    Strategy Install automated speed enforcement cameras.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Speeding, Intersections
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer speeds
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) n/a
    Strategy Maintain and refine the SKATS Safety (Crash) Dashboards and High Injury Network Mapping available to the public and member agencies.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Cross-cutting — planning and collaboration (a SKATS internal effort, helpful to but independent of Safe Systems Approach)
    Safe System Approach Objective SS4A - Analysis and Collaboration
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) n/a
    Strategy Establish an interagency safety committee.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Cross-cutting — planning and collaboration (a SKATS regional effort, complimenting the Safe Systems Approach)
    Safe System Approach Objective SS4A - Analysis and Collaboration
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) n/a
    Strategy Improve visibility of traffic lights and signs. Use high-visibility road markings and lane lines.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Road-user age; Impairment-Distraction
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer Roads, Safer People
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) 20-30% (all crashes)
    Strategy Align updated crosswalks with bus stops and improve accessibility to stops.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Walking and rolling
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer Roads, Safer People
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) n/a
    Strategy Create an educational campaign targeting prevention of risky and illegal driver behaviors such as speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, and drowsy driving.
    Focus/Emphasis Area Impairment and distraction
    Safe System Approach Objective Safer Roads, Safer People
    Estimated Crash Reduction (crash types) n/a

  • Next Steps

  • Draft MTSAP Plan open in new tab icon

    The draft plan is open for review and comment through August 14. After that, we’ll review comments from the public, share them with our review committees and adjust the plan if needed.

    The project management team and the steering committee will review and approve the plan in early September.

    We’ll present the final plan at the SKATS Policy Committee meeting on September 24.

     

    To submit your feedback, please click the Submit button below. Thank you!

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