ST. GEORGE — As serious roadway crashes continue to climb in Washington County, the Five County Association of Governments recently was awarded a grant to help fund a new study aimed at reducing automobile crashes.
“Our overall objective is to reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries within Washington County,” said Nicholas Gayer, transportation planner and project manager for the Dixie Metropolitan Planning Organization, Five County Association of Governments. “We’re developing a safety action plan to do exactly that. We’re trying to create a list of projects, policies and strategies to reduce those types of crashes on our roadway.”
Between 2016 and 2023, a total of 670 serious injuries and fatal crashes were recorded in Washington County, he said, adding that those numbers break down to 573 serious injuries and 97 fatal incidents.
“Those stats are just crash counts; that’s not getting into the individual injury statistics or how many fatalities that actually is,” Gayer said.
Historically, before COVID-19, the most significant crash count year was 2017, which had approximately 90 crashes. After COVID-19, there was a dramatic increase in serious roadway injuries and fatal crashes across the nation, he said. In 2020, the crash count jumped to 96. Then in 2021, there were 115, and in 2022, 128.
“So gradually, over three years, we increased the amount of fatal and serious injury cases by 30%,” Gayer said. “Right now, in 2023, that number is just not slowing down whatsoever.”
In an effort to reduce roadway deaths to zero across the nation, the U.S. Department of Transportation is stepping up to fund and help communities prioritize safety. As part of this, the association recently was awarded the Safe Streets for All Action Plan.
According to the Vision Zero Network, the grant will help local agencies:
- Promote walking, biking and transit.
- Advance racial and health equity.
- Manage speeds for safety.
- Make systemic change based on the Safe System approach.
- Demonstrate designs and activities.
A given theory for the increase in roadway deaths and significant injuries is that after COVID-19, there was an extensive halt in international travel. So more cars are on the road and more people are traveling nationally or within their own states.
“And especially at a place like here, where we have Zion National Park, we have a huge number of tourists in this area, as well as our natural growth that’s happening at a dramatic rate in Washington County,” Gayer said.
This project provides more in-depth information to identify feasible roadway safety improvements. He said the final Safety Action Plan will be provided to all local, tribal, regional and underserved communities within Washington County as a resource for future improvements in their communities.
“However, we will be analyzing that at a much deeper rate with this plan, and then we’re hoping to get … an in-depth way of trying to reduce those crashes in the future,” Gayer said.
Once a consultant firm is chosen for the study, he expects the plan will be created in the next 10 months. Then it will be presented to the public and government officials for feedback.
The plan will identify areas with roadway risks and issues to be addressed. His office can help those groups apply for funding opportunities like this grant program.
Gayer said his office is already working with a community comprised of the Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance, the Shivwitts Band of Paiutes, the Washington County School District, the Utah Department of Transportation and some residents.
While UDOT would not be allowed to apply for any grant money, they are included on the committee since state routes are involved. Most of these kinds of roadway collisions occur on state routes because that’s where most vehicles are. The Five County Association of Governments will involve pedestrians, cyclists and others for all modes of transportation.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, some of the ways the grant will manage roadway safety include applying low-cost roadway safety treatments, identifying and correcting common risks and transforming roadway corridors. Read the full list at this link.
Gayer said this plan would also be developed to include personal vehicles on the roads and other data.
“We’re trying to analyze pedestrian trends, cycling trends, transit trends, freight trends and any factor on the road that causes any risk or serious or fatal crash accounts,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to analyze with this plan.”
Learn more about the association at this link.
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