Minnesota Department of Transportation

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State Aid for Local Transportation

Traffic safety education and resources

Traffic safety education and resources

Overview

In the early 2010s, State Aid and the Office of Traffic Engineering launched a traffic safety education and outreach initiative, leading to the development of County Roadway Safety Plans (CRSP). This initiative enabled counties to access federal and state safety funds for implementing effective safety strategies, significantly reducing fatal and serious injury crashes on Minnesota roads. Education, a key component of the Towards Zero Deaths (TZD) program, plays a crucial role in fostering a culture of traffic safety. However, a decade has passed since the initial outreach, resulting in significant turnover among city and county engineers and a potential knowledge gap in safety planning.

Currently, approximately 70 percent of fatal and serious injury crashes occur on local roadways, with a troubling increase since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this, a new set of local road traffic safety workshops was developed in 2024, incorporating gaps from city, county, FHWA, and MnDOT staff. These workshops aim to fill knowledge gaps by providing education on updated crash data, traffic safety countermeasures, funding opportunities, and public engagement strategies.

As noted by Ted Schoenecker, MnDOT State Aid, Assistant Division Director, “It takes effort and intention on the part of all of us to achieve Minnesota’s goal of zero fatalities. Local agencies play a critical role in this effort, and we asking each of you to be a safety champion.”

2024-2025 workshop materials

Crash data summaries

*An extensive crash analysis has also been conducted for each city and county by district, with summary data and workshop materials available for review. Contact Girma Feyissa at girma.feyissa@state.mn.us to request a copy.