TR,t\NSP.ORifA..lllQN SAFETY 

PLAN .. NIN .. G. (fSP) WORKSHOP ', 

Communicating,. Collaborating, and 

Coor<linating to Aclvance TSP in Alaska 

Transportation Safety Planning – National and Alaska Context 

Safety is a national transportation performance goal area, but more importantly, it is the number one priority 

for all transportation system users. For this reason, every state Department of Transportation (DOT), 

metropolitan planning organization (MPO), and many local jurisdictions are investing in programs and projects 

to reduce fatalities and serious injuries. Alaska is addressing transportation safety through a “Toward Zero 

Deaths” approach, which focuses on zero fatalities and the promise to move residents and visitors to their 

destinations safely. Many different stakeholders play a role in achieving this commitment, with transportation 

planners leading the way on stakeholder coordination, crash data analysis, prioritizing and programming 

investments, and tracking and evaluating results. 

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety and Office of Planning provide technical assistance 

to their partners to address transportation safety. The Transportation Safety Planning (TSP) Workshops project 

is one such effort that facilitated open discussions between safety and planning practitioners to further the 

collaborations on saving lives and eliminating fatalities and serious injuries. 

In May 2018, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) hosted a workshop in 

Anchorage, Alaska, with participants from the MPOs, local safety and transportation partners, and FHWA. The 

workshop was a part of a yearlong project that also included a pre-workshop webinar to introduce participants 

to the concepts of transportation safety and planning integration, and prioritize topics to emphasize during the 

workshop; a post-workshop technical assistance webinar to discuss opportunities and challenges identified by 

participants at the workshop; and a peer exchange webinar to share successful practices and broaden 

collaboration with other states who were participating in this yearlong project around the same time. 

Alaska’s Transportation Safety Planning Strengths 

The Transportation Safety Planning Workshops project complemented and highlighted the safety planning 

work already underway in Alaska and provided new ideas for moving forward. Areas where Alaska excels in 

transportation safety planning include: 

• Implementation of the Critical Analysis and Reporting Environment (CARE) data analysis and reporting 

system. 

• Training and technical assistance for Alaska DOT&PF and MPO staff on CARE to ensure it is a viable crash 

analysis tool for planning purposes. 

• Training for MPOs and local jurisdictions on how to query data in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System 

(FARS), making it a useful transportation safety planning tool. 

• Inclusion of regional and local stakeholders in the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) update and 

implementation processes. 

• Coordination of local and MPO vision zero efforts. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Alaska’s Notable Practices in Transportation Safety Planning 

Crash Analysis: To enable transportation planners and engineers to easily perform crash analysis and 

reporting, DOT&PF is utilizing a new system, CARE, with assistance from the University of Alabama. The builtin automation and features make it easier to access data and visualize analysis results. 

In particular, it: 

• Shows all crash data in

tabular or map form;

• Conducts robust searches

and has filter functionality;

and

• Conducts hot spot and

sliding scale analysis.

Behavioral Efforts: The Fairbanks MPO led a crash analysis, which showed that young driver crashes occur 

at a much higher rate than that of any other age group. In reviewing the Alaska SHSP, the MPO identified 

“Pursuing programs to ensure outreach and education to young drivers” as a strategy. In coordination with 

the local school district, the MPO will support two initiatives. The MPO will provide funding to the school 

district to reinstate driver’s education classes and to support student scholarships for private driver education 

courses. 

Project Prioritization: Performance-based planning requires transportation agencies to identify programs and 

projects that demonstrate progress toward safety goals. One way to do this is to incorporate safety 

considerations into the project prioritization process. The Fairbanks MPO has taken steps to expand and vet the 

safety scoring criteria to ensure all projects include safety to the maximum extent possible. 

Next Steps for Transportation Safety Planning in Alaska 

• Information Sharing – Educate stakeholders and public, and manage

expectations on safety improvements early and throughout the entire

planning process.

• Utilizing CARE – Initiate information sharing, training, and technical

assistance on this system so agencies can successfully analyze their safety 

issues. 

• Project Prioritization - Include a transparent evaluation process to

incorporate safety considerations in the decision making for all

transportation plans.

• Behavioral Safety – Identify opportunities to address the most

pressing behavioral safety needs at the regional and local levels.

Safety Criteria Used in 

Prioritizing Projects 

• Addresses a high crash

location (weight of 5)

• Improves safety for all

users (weight of 4) 

• Addresses a geometric

deficiency (weight of 3)

• Reduces modal

conflicts (weight of 2)

• Has a history of safety

complaints (weight of

1)

FHWA-SA-19-019