Santa Cruz Awarded $1.5 Million In Highway Safety Improvement Grants

Press release from the City of Santa Cruz:

March 31, 2021

SANTA CRUZ — Yesterday the City of Santa Cruz was awarded two Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grants totaling $1.5 million. The funds are designated for two projects that will upgrade citywide traffic signals and make pedestrian improvements at unsignalized intersections. These projects will begin in 2022 and are expected to be completed in 2023.

Both projects, titled Citywide Signal Safety Upgrades and Unsignalized Crossing Improvement, were identified though a Local Roadway Safety Plan analysis process. They will improve multimodal safety on City roadways and advance Vision Zero goals.

The Citywide Signal Safety Upgrades project was awarded $1,257,600. It will install Advanced Dilemma Zone Detection and retroreflective borders on traffic signal backplates at signalized intersections. Its state of-the-art detection system will enhance safety by modifying the traffic control signal timing to reduce the number of drivers that may have difficulty deciding whether to stop or proceed through the intersection during a yellow signal phase. This may reduce rear-end crashes associated with unsafe stopping and angle crashes due to illegally continuing into the intersection during the red phase.

The Unsignalized Crossing Improvement project was awarded $247,100 and will install rectangular rapid flashing beacons at six unsignalized locations to improve pedestrian safety. The project will include pedestrian signs, advanced yield lines with associated signs, and high visibility crosswalk markings.

The two HSIP grant awards help advance the City’s Re-Envision Santa Cruz recovery plan by improving infrastructure and helping financial recovery from a deficit that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two HSIP awards add to more than $31 million in grants to improve multimodal transportation that the Traffic Engineering division has achieved for the City of Santa Cruz since 2011.

This press release was produced by the City of Santa Cruz. The views expressed here are the author’s own.