Crawford County’s commission chair, Bruce Blair, said the goal is to prevent crashes and increase traffic safety.
“The whole idea is to at least make it where the accidents are avoided,” said Blair. “If it’s a setup, signage, or construction issue, we can avoid all that.”
The initiative is funded by a $800,000 Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Program.
The Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission received the grant in 2022.
The commission's executive director, Carey Spoon said the action plan makes it possible for the county to receive continued funding.
She said there were public surveys, meetings and task force meetings to determine which projects were of the highest priority within Crawford County.
“It really depends on what the projects are,” said Spoon. “Some of them may be intersection related crashes or roadway departures, so maybe flashing lights on a stop sign or rumble strips.”
The plan includes 12 counties in Southeast Kansas and uses a data-driven strategy to locate areas with higher crash rates.
According to the action plan, there were more than 39,000 crashes in the Southeast Kansas region from 2014-2023, with more than 350 resulting in fatalities.
The most common types of crashes in the 12-county area were “roadway departure” and “intersection related” crashes, with Pittsburg being the most crash-dense area. Over 80% of Crawford County’s accidents occurred when the driver was alone in the car.
There’s a distinction between crashes and accidents. Crashes occur when an incident has a preventable cause. An accident cannot be anticipated and is unavoidable.
Commission chair Blair maintains that accidents will still happen, but he is hopeful that the action plan could reduce fatalities to zero. He believes knowing the areas of concern is crucial for safety — he urges community involvement.
“Everyone has an area or a safety concern with a road,” said Blair, “and we’d love to hear all of them. But if no one tells us, we really don’t know, and there are ways to reach out.”
He said those with concerns about the traffic safety in a particular area can contact the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission or the county commission.
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