Whitefish Bay wins National Roadway Safety Award; expects 480 fewer vehicles involved in crashes by 2026

The village of Whitefish Bay is among seven communities nationwide to win a 2021 National Roadway Safety Award.

The National Roadway Safety Awards is a biennial program sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Foundation. Communities are awarded for implementing safety improvements that reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on roadways.

Whitefish Bay was awarded for its Communitywide Safety Improvements Program, which was implemented in response to a decade-long increase in crashes. Crashes in the village are down 39% since 2015, according to the village website.

Greg Cohen, Roadway Safety Foundation executive director, said in a statement that he urges transportation departments nationwide to replicate the efforts and innovations of Whitefish Bay and the other award winners.

“Last year’s jump in fatalities was alarming and projects like Whitefish Bay’s communitywide safety improvements save lives by deterring dangerous driving,” said Cohen. “Future travelers in Whitefish Bay, whose lives and limbs will be spared by these improvements, will owe an unknowing debt of gratitude to the village board and staff.”

Within five years, the village estimates the program will result in 257 fewer law enforcement responses, 480 vehicles spared from damage, and the prevention of eight pedestrians or bicyclists from being struck by vehicles.

Communitywide safety improvements

To develop the safety program, Whitefish Bay contracted with Traffic Analysis & Design Inc. and coordinated with the state Department of Transportation to implement a series of low-cost solutions to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

The program added high-visibility crosswalks, medians, higher visibility traffic signals with longer pedestrian intervals, improved street lighting, dynamic speed feedback signs and “yield to pedestrian” signs. The village also installed Danish offsets at some multi-lane crossings. The design features a narrow median lined with pedestrian fencing that staggers the crosswalk pattern to increase the visibility of oncoming traffic.

In a newsletter, Village President Kevin Buckley said the village can be proud of a team that includes staff, Village Engineer John Edlebeck and police for keeping roads safe.

“Pedestrian, cyclist, and auto safety is a long process, and we’ll never be done finding issues and improvements,” Buckley said.

“We pride ourselves in being a very pedestrian and bicyclist friendly community, which requires a real commitment to safety,” said Buckley in a statement. “The village board and staff take roadway safety seriously and never miss an opportunity to improve our roadway system through innovative means.”

Other award-winners include the state Department of Transportation in: North Carolina for its long-life pavement markings safety effort, California for its 2020-24 Strategic Highway Safety Plan update, Texas for its tool to assess the safety of rural highway design elements and Florida for its use of smart work zone safety technologies.

Two more communities were honored: the city of Bellevue, Washington, for its video analytics traffic safety program and the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization in Florida for its Complete Streets Master Plan.

Fatal crashes in Wisconsin totaled 540 in 2020, according to state Department of Transportation statistics. That’s 39 more crash fatalities than in 2019, despite total crashes decreasing from 145,288 in 2019 to 115,694 in 2020. Fewer travelers on roads during the coronavirus pandemic could be the reason for the drastic decrease in total crashes. The average total crashes between 2015-19 is 136,007.

Eddie Morales can be reached at 414-223-5366 or eddie.morales@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @emoralesnews.