Dayton Regional Safety Initiative

Background

Participants discuss and provide feedback at Regional Roadway Safety Workshop on April 18, 2006.

The Dayton Regional Safety Initiative (DaRSI) began in SFY2006 as a response to the added emphasis placed on roadway safety by the 2005 Federal Transportation Bill known as SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users).

As a result of federal and state's effort to reduce roadway fatalities and injuries throughout the Miami Valley , the original Regional Safety Analysis (RSA) was initiated in 2006. The goal of DaRSI is to generate a list of locations in need of countermeasures to reduce the frequency or severity of accidents. MVRPC staff collected and analyzed 2002-2004 regional traffic crash data provided by both the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Department of Public Safety to identify local “high crash locations.” After the 2006 Roadway Safety Workshop MVRPC staff compiled a final list of the top 50 locations based on attendee comments and internal analyses. Ten locations with most promise for low-cost, short-term safety improvements were presented to ODOT for funding consideration, for which funding was subsequently approved for further study or project implementation.