Toole Design hosted a public engagement pop-up event at The Salina Fieldhouse during the popular Halloween Trunk or Treat festivities as part of the CSAP. This initiative aimed to gather valuable community input on improving safety throughout the town. Toole Design staff engaged with many residents and handed out over 400 invitations to take our survey.

Conversations discussed locations where residents did not feel safe, strategies to create safer, more accessible streets and encouraged participation in an online survey and interactive map. The booth featured informative maps, educational materials, and interactive displays designed to foster dialogue and collaboration.

The event provided a unique opportunity to connect with residents of all ages, leveraging the festive atmosphere to raise awareness about the plan and emphasize the importance of community involvement in shaping a safer, more inclusive transportation network.

On October 28, 2024, Toole Design presented the SS4A CSAP to the Salina City Commission during a Study Session. The presentation began with an overview of the traffic fatalities crisis in the United States and some initial analysis that had been drafted by Toole Design. The presentation emphasized the Safe System Approach, a holistic framework that integrates roadway design, policy, behavior, and education to prevent deaths and serious injuries. The project team highlighted the benefits of developing a CSAP, including establishing clear goals, collecting and analyzing data, and recommending policy and process changes to improve safety.

Toole Design outlined their approach to plan development and the steps that will be taken to bring the analysis, outreach, and recommendations together into a comprehensive safety plan that is easy to understand and implementable.

The data provided the City Commission with a clear understanding of the work to be done to better understand transportation safety issues in Salina and how those issues can be identified and addressed.

Toole Design completed a Descriptive Crash Analysis for the Salina CSAP, using data from KDOT and the City of Salina. The analysis examined crash trends and roadway attributes from 2019 to 2023, focusing on crashes resulting in fatalities and injuries.

Key findings revealed that:

• Salina’s crash rates have remained relatively steady, with no reduction in fatal and serious injuries

• Of the 4,222 crashes recorded, 1,117 resulted in injuries, and 11 were fatal, including one pedestrian and one bicyclist

• Pedestrian crashes were notably frequent along roadway segments rather than intersections, suggesting a need for additional safe mid-block crossings.

The analysis also highlighted increased crash severity on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or greater and on streets with multiple lanes. Angle and head-on crashes were identified as the most common crash types resulting in fatalities or injuries. Crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists were consistently more severe than vehicle only crashes. This data provides critical insights to guide targeted safety improvements, such as new roadway behavior programs, policy changes, and countermeasures to reduce fatal and injury-causing crashes.

A High Injury Network map was created for Salina using fatal and injury crash data from KDOT. These maps show which roadways in Salina tend to have the highest numbers of fatalities and injuries. This analysis was completed for all crashes combined, and broken down for different travel modes, including bicyclists and pedestrians.

The maps provide Salina with a clear, data-driven tool to prioritize safety investments. By focusing on high-crash-density corridors, the HIN enables targeted interventions to address serious safety concerns where they are needed most.

As part of the Salina CSAP, existing plans, policies, and processes were reviewed to identify relevant elements for inclusion in the Plan. This analysis highlighted gaps and opportunities to improve roadway safety, with the goal of reducing deaths and serious injuries on Salina's roads.

The review also laid the groundwork for identifying targeted countermeasures to create a safer system through enhanced enforcement, roadway design, education, and infrastructure. By aligning local practices with proven safety strategies, this process supports the development of a comprehensive and effective approach to transportation safety.

Toole Design conducted an equity analysis and hosted listening sessions as part of the plan development to understand how different groups in Salina are impacted by transportation. This process emphasized the importance of recognizing vulnerable populations who do not drive due to factors such as ability, income, or age.

The equity analysis involved three key steps:

• Gathering historical and contextual information

• Conducting a demographic analysis to identify key populations

• Integrating findings into the CSAP to develop strategies that advance equity in Salina.

By highlighting disparities and informing project prioritization, the equity analysis aims to help monitor, reduce, and ultimately eliminate the fatalities and serious injuries that tend to occur more frequently to vulnerable populations.

The analysis included a Historical Context section to examine local and broader policy impacts on transportation equity. Demographic maps identified areas with concentrations of disadvantaged communities and the High Injury Network was overlaid with this data to pinpoint where vulnerable populations and unsafe infrastructure overlap.

This approach provides actionable insights for targeted engagement, informed decision-making, and ensuring future transportation investments address the needs of Salina’s most vulnerable residents.