(Sierra Vista, AZ) – The Southeastern Arizona Governments Organization (SEAGO) and Sierra Vista Metropolitan Planning Organization (SVMPO) are preparing a Southeast Arizona Transportation Safety Action Plan (Safety Plan). This Safety Plan will recommend regional strategies to reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries throughout Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, and Santa Cruz Counties.

The most recent five years of crash data (2018-2022) in the SEAGO/SVMPO planning areas have been reviewed and the Safety Plan will identify:

·  Regional trends;

·  Locations with a high number of crashes;

·  Locations with fatal and serious injury crashes; and

·  Primary contributing factors for these crashes.

A website has been developed for the Safety Plan: https://www.seazsafetyplan.org/. This website will serve as the central location for project information, public input opportunities, study area maps, documents, and frequently asked questions. An associated interactive map and survey is available as well: https://app.publiccoordinate.com/#/projects/SEAZsafetyplan/map

Anyone interested in this topic will be able to view materials at a time and place convenient to them. The public can also sign up to receive project updates through the website so that they will be personally informed when opportunities for public input are happening.  Opportunities to provide input will be posted on the project website. 

The project team is planning two rounds of hybrid virtual and in-person public input activities. A series of open houses or events in the four-county area will take place to ensure that anyone who would like to participate in person is able to do so.

·  Round 1 of public input will present the community with the results of the in-depth safety data analysis and initial recommendations for improvement projects.

·  Round 2 of public input will present the community with final roadway improvement recommendations and other non-construction recommendations, including policies and educational campaigns.

This Safety Plan will set agencies within the four-county region up for success when they apply for grant funding to make safety improvements. The Plan will meet eligibility requirements that allow local agencies to apply for Implementation Grants including the Safe Streets and Roads for All program. Building consensus and support from the numerous and varied roadway user stakeholders across the SEAGO/SVMPO regions will also help to ensure the success of the plan goals to reduce life altering events on the regional roadway system.