Roadway Safety Data Program

DELAWARE VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING 

COMMISSION (DVRPC) INTEGRATING SAFETY 

INTO THE PLANNING PROCESS AT THE MPO LEVEL

STRATEGIES FOR USING GIS TO ADVANCE HIGHWAY SAFETY 

CASE STUDY

FHWA-SA-16-029

Prepared for

Federal Highway Administration

Office of Safety

Roadway Safety Data Program

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsdp/

Fewer 

Fatalities & 

Serious 

Injuries 

Better 

Targeted 

Safety 

Investment 

More 

Informed 

Decision 

Making 

Improved 

Data 

Collection 

& Analysis 

May 2016
DVRPC’S Integrating Safety into the Planning Process at the MPO Level
DVRPC’S Integrating Safety into the Planning Process at the MPO Level

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CASE STUDY OVERVIEW 

OBJECTIVE 

The main objective of this case study is to illustrate how Delaware Valley Regional Planning 

Commission (DVRPC) successfully uses GIS to incorporate safety into one or more elements 

of the transportation-planning process. 

BACKGROUND 

Transportation planning is a continuous, comprehensive, and cooperative (3C) performancedriven process by which States, metropolitan transportation planning organizations (MPOs), and 

transit operators determine long- and short-range transportation improvement priorities. In 

addition to the entities cited, the planning process includes the active involvement of the 

traveling public, the business community, and other stakeholders.(1)

On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation 

(FAST) Act (Pub. L. No. 114-94) into law—the first federal law in over a decade to provide 

long-term funding certainty for surface transportation infrastructure planning and investment.(2) 

The FAST Act continues all of the metropolitan planning requirements that were in effect 

under MAP-21. Increasing the safety of transportation system for motorized and nonmotorized 

users was among the eight planning factors for Metropolitan Transportation Planning.(3) The 

new legislation emphasizes performance management within the Federal-aid highway program 

and transit programs and requires that State, metropolitan, and nonmetropolitan transportation 

planners use performance-based approaches―often referred to as performance-based planning 

and programming (PBPP).(4) With PBPP, transportation entities make decisions based on data 

and evidence so that transportation investments remain realistic and achievable. 

A GIS-based safety analysis will greatly help the data-driven, decision-making process develop 

various planning documents that address these requirements, as well as prioritize long- and 

short-range transportation improvements. 

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENT 

Integrating GIS-based safety analysis into the planning process accomplishes a data-driven, 

decision-making process, which promotes better safety decision making. It also helps agencies 

develop performance-based planning and programming to meet requirements for accessing 

Federal safety funds. The principal output of a data-driven, GIS-based safety analysis is the 

agency’s ability to identify and prioritize high-crash locations and information that is integrated 
DVRPC’S Integrating Safety into the Planning Process at the MPO Level

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into various transportation plans along with other planning components, such as congestion, air 

quality, green design, etc. 

TARGET AUDIENCE 

This case study discusses how DVRPC’s member counties and cities use GIS-based safety 

analysis tools. The information provided in this case study is useful to any transportation agency 

staffs including planners, designers, traffic engineers, and highway safety professionals, who are 

interested in integrating safety into the planning stages of a project using GIS-based analysis 

techniques. 
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PROGRAM AND PROCESSES—INTEGRATING DVRPC’S SAFETY 

ANALYSIS INTO PLANNING

Working closely with the partner agencies from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the DVRPC 

developed a systematic, data-driven approach to crash analysis that has become a standard 

component in much of the DVRPC transportation planning work. The approach includes 

several GIS-based analyses, which allow the agency to: 

1. Weigh the Transportation Improvement Program evaluation criteria (which uses safety 

as its number two criterion); 

2. Update the DVRPC Transportation Safety Action Plan; 

3. Identify candidate locations for the DVRPC’s safety studies program, which includes 

road safety audits and other crash data-based studies; and 

4. Use GIS-based Web maps to share HSIP-eligible locations with New Jersey county and 

city partners as they consider project development. 

The following section explores these uses for GIS-based analysis. 

1. GIS-BASED ANALYSIS TO WEIGH THE TRANSPORTATION 

IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (TIP) EVALUATION CRITERIA (WHICH USES 

SAFETY AS THE NUMBER TWO CRITERION) 

Working with the partners, DVRPC developed the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) 

evaluation criteria process. The purpose of the TIP evaluation criteria process is use the criteria 

as indicators of regional benefit related to the goals of the Transportation Long Range Plan and 

score each project in the plan. The process uses a Web-based, decision-making tool to weigh 

the criteria. The whole process involves using GIS to compare potential project locations with 

data layers and assigns a score driven by criteria. The following nine elements of the DVRPC 

TIP evaluation criteria incorporate safety(5) as the second criterion: 

1. Facility/Asset Condition 

2. Safety 

3. Reduce Congestion 

4. Invest in Centers 

5. Facility/Asset Use 

6. Economic Competitiveness 

7. Multimodal Bike/Pedestrian 

8. Environmental Justice 

9. Air Quality/Green Design

The DVRPC Regional Technical Committee, which includes county and transportation agency 

planners and engineers, uses a series of pairwise comparisons that directly estimate the relative 
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importance of each criterion weighted in the decision-making tool. Candidate projects can 

receive a maximum score of one (1) point for each criterion, depending on how well it meets 

the predefined requirements. Each project receives a total score, which is equal to the sum of 

the weight times the rating for each criterion. The tool can compare a project’s estimated total 

State and Federal cost to the total score, as a benefit-cost ratio. Other sources of funding that 

may increase a project’s benefit-cost ratio, such as additional local funding beyond match 

requirements, nontraditional funding grants, and developer or private contributions, will not 

count toward a project’s cost for the benefit-cost ratio. The tool provides a process for ranking 

projects with the highest benefit-cost ratios. However, while the Regional Technical Committee 

recommends, ultimately, the DVRPC Board makes the final decisions to determine TIP project 

selections. 

Figure 1 illustrates the safety criteria (used in the TIP evaluation criteria), which incorporates 

the following rating scale.(5,6) 

 Transit Projects: 1.0 point per safety-critical transit project. 

 Roadway/Bike/Pedestrian Projects: 0.5 point per safety-improvement/critical safety 

location (up to one point). 

─ The project is in one or more DOT-identified high-crash location. 

─ The project incorporates one or more FHWA proven safety countermeasures: 

 Roundabouts

 Access management

 Signal backplates with retroreflective 

borders

 Longitudinal rumble strips and stripes 

on two-lane roads

 Enhanced delineation and friction 

for horizontal curves

 Safety edge

 Medians and 

pedestrian-crossing 

islands in urban and 

suburban areas

 Pedestrian hybrid 

beacons

 Road diets

Two participating States use different process to identify safety projects, which are measured in 

terms of crashes, severity, and exposure (where available). Each State performs the database 

analysis in house and then provides the resulting database to DVRPC, which maps the locations 

for integration into DVRPC programs. The process maps multiple data points for the criteria 

geospatially and after visualization, performs additional geospatial processes to identify which 

criteria coincide with each project—this also includes additional calculations involving traffic 

volumes and project costs. Because the TIP funding is on different schedules for each State, the 

States conduct these processes separately. Safety is the second-highest weighted criterion, 

representing 17 percent of the model’s decision—behind only Facility/Asset Condition, which 

represents 19 percent of the decision. 
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17% Safety 

Figure 1: High-Crash Corridors and Intersections within the DVRPC 

2. GIS-BASED SAFETY ANALYSIS TO UPDATE THE DVRPC 

TRANSPORTATION SAFETY ACTION PLAN (TSAP) PROJECT SELECTIONS 

DVRPC also uses the Web-based GIS safety analysis tool to update the DVRPC Transportation 

Safety Action Plan (TSAP).(7) Before updating each TSAP, the each agency prepare a report that 

provides information about crashes by type of road and by types of crashes and crash severity. 

The data and analysis findings help highlight specific areas of need to guide effective decision 

making and improve safety. 

Analysis begins with the reportable crash databases maintained by each State DOT and shared 

with DVRPC for planning purposes; DVRPC then uses the data to map all crashes in the region. 

The main focus of the TSAP is a data analysis of the 18 AASHTO safety emphasis areas within 

the nine-county region. These are the same emphasis areas each State uses to develop its 

Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), and DVRPC’s analysis conforms to each State’s criteria 

for consistency. The result is a list of data-driven hierarchy of the region’s emphasis areas based 

on injuries and fatalities.
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3. GIS-BASED SAFETY ANALYSIS TO IDENTIFY CANDIDATE LOCATIONS 

FOR THE DVRPC SAFETY STUDIES PROGRAM, WHICH INCLUDES ROAD 

SAFETY AUDITS (RSA) AND RELATED STUDIES

DVRPC also uses the Web-based, GIS-based safety analysis tool to identify candidate locations 

for the Road Safety Audits (RSA) and other safety studies on New Jersey county routes. The 

beginning of the process to implement the HSIP implementation requires that each agency 

complete an RSA or other safety study on an HSIP-eligible location. Agencies typically conduct 

and RSA only on HSIP funding-eligible locations. 

Figure 2 below is a snapshot of the ArcGIS.com Web-mapping application (created using 

ArcMap 10.1) that contains a layer for each of four data sets and serves as a starting point for 

identifying RSA candidate locations. The four data sets, as shown by different data layers, 

include: 

1. 3 mi segments recording 150 or more total crashes; 

2. 2 mi segments recording 100 or more total crashes; 

3. 2 mi segments recording 12 or more hit-fixed-object crashes; and 

4. 2/10 mi segments recording 7 or more left-turn and/or U-turn crashes. 

Locations that meet at least one of the criteria are included for identifying RSA-candidate 

locations. 

Figure 2: Snapshot of County Route Network Screening for RSA 
4. GIS-BASED WEB MAPS FOR SHARING HSIP-ELIGIBLE LOCATIONS 

WITH NEW JERSEY COUNTY AND CITY PARTNERS WHEN CONSIDERING 

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT 

The NJDOT administers a competitive HSIP Local Safety Program that awards Federal HSIP 

funds to county and city applicants for projects that score positively on a Highway Safety Manual

analysis and meet the NJDOT safety professionals’ approval. 

MPOs facilitate the HSIP Local Safety Program. As part of the application materials, DVRPC 

developed a Web map of the locations resulting from the HSIP-eligible network screening that 

applicants use to identify locations on their respective systems. The locations are the starting 

point for developing safety projects. Figure 3 shows the Web map included in the 2016 

solicitation. In addition to the network screening data, the Web application includes layers for 

safety studies that have conducted (including Road Safety Audits). The purpose is to encourage 

applicants to develop projects at locations where an analysis is already completed and that also 

coincide with the network screening lists. 

Figure 3: Web map of the Locations Resulting from the HSIP-Eligible Network Screening 

DVRPC’S Integrating Safety into the Planning Process at the MPO Level

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DVRPC’S Integrating Safety into the Planning Process at the MPO Level

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SUMMARY 

BENEFITS/RESULTS 

The major benefit of the DVRPC GIS-based safety analysis/integration process is that it enables 

a data-driven component—a requirement for accessing Federal safety funds. It also provides an 

efficient process for analyzing large numbers of potential projects and identifies and ranks those 

most needed. The process also helped the DVRPC bridge the GIS knowledge gap between 

different States. 

IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES 

The major challenges DVRPC faced when implementing a GIS-based safety analysis/integration 

process include: 

 Different data formats between the States, 

 Different criteria for identifying HSIP-eligible locations between the States, and 

 Lack of GIS knowledge among local partners. 

LESSONS LEARNED 

GIS based safety analysis helps implement a conceptual evaluation framework consistent with 

the performance requirements of MAP-21 and cutting-edge planning practice. It also provides a 

better understanding of the safety picture and serves as a decision support tool for prioritizing 

projects and aligning with various transportation plan goals and objectives. For example, the TIP 

evaluation criteria process helps decision makers understand whether or not TIP projects 

promote the goals of the region’s long range transportation plan. 
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REFERENCES 

1. Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration. The Transportation 

Planning Process: Key Issues 2015 Update, A Briefing Book for Transportation Decision 

Makers, Officials, and Staff, Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit 

Administration, Washington, DC, 2015. 

2. Federal Highway Administration. Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act or "FAST 

Act" Fact Sheet, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/fastact/. Accessed June 2016.

3. Federal Highway Administration. Selected Planning for Operations Excerpts from Title 

23, United States Code, Reflecting MAP-21 Amendments, 

http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/plan4ops/policy_reg/map_21.htm. Accessed October 2015.

4. Federal Highway Administration. Performance-Based Planning and Programming 

Guidebook. Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC, 2013. 

5. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/map21/guidance/guidetap.cfm. Accessed October 2015. 

6. Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Transportation Improvement Program, 

Project Evaluation Criteria. 

7. ———. Transportation Improvement Program, Project Evaluation Criteria. 

Presentation at Regional Technical Committee, 2014. 

8. ———. Analysis of Crashes in the Delaware Valley, 2010–2012, 2014. 
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EXPLANATION OF TERMS 

AASHTO – American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

CCSAP – Congestion And Crash Site Analysis Program

DVRPC – Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission

FAST Act Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act –

GIS Geographic Information System –

HSIP – Highway Safety Improvement Program

MAP-21 – Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act

MPO – Metropolitan planning organizations

PBPP – Performance-based planning and programming

RSA – Road Safety Audit

RTC – Regional Technical Committee

SHSP – Strategic Highway Safety Plan

SAFETEA-LU – Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 

for Users

TIP – Transportation Improvement Program

TSAP – Transportation Safety Action Plan
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AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION 

Kevin S. Murphy 

Assistant Manager, Safety Programs 

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission 

Phone: 215-238-2864 

Email: kmurphy@dvrpc.org

Matthew Lawson, PhD., AICP/PP 

Principal Planner 

Mercer County Planning Department 

Phone: 609-989-6546

Email: mlawson@mercercounty.org