New study to guide future city investments in traffic safety
The City of Saskatoon has completed work on a two-year study entitled the Strategic Traffic Safety Action Plan which looks at various ways of improving traffic safety in Saskatoon. The project was a joint initiative with partners at the University of Saskatchewan, including the College of Engineering and the Saskatchewan Centre of Excellence for Transportation and Infrastructure (SCETI). The Strategic Traffic Safety Action Plan will be one of the items discussed at the September 15th meeting of the City's Standing Policy Committee on Transportation.
By Kris Foster
"The plan provides many good insights about how the City can collaborate with other stakeholders to share resources and maximize investments in traffic safety," says Jay Magus, Engineering Manager in Transportation (City of Saskatoon). "Now we have one more tool to make smart financial decisions on how to allocate funding toward road and traffic improvements. It can serve as a resource for many years."
"Saskatoon is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada," notes Carl Kuhnke, Managing Director of SCETI (University of Saskatchewan). "Our centre encourages and funds innovative ideas that utilize the expertise at the university; this traffic safety initiative was an obvious one for us." Kuhnke says the work of the research team, combined with expertise at the City and Saskatoon Police Service, has provided strong guidance for the City to accurately prioritize their traffic safety strategies based on historical, current, and forecast needs. The university research team was led by Dr. Peter Park, Associate Professor of Civil and Geological Engineering.
The Strategic Traffic Safety Action Plan identifies seven areas of emphasis for traffic safety including aggressive, distracted and impaired driving; intersections; older and younger drivers; and vulnerable road users (e.g. pedestrians and cyclists). Over 30 collaborative and data-driven strategies are recommended to address traffic safety, focusing on education, enforcement, and/or engineering. Examples of these include improved traffic signal operation, well maintained pavement markings, and public education around impaired and distracted driving. These strategies were developed in partnership with the Saskatoon Board of Education, SGI, the Saskatoon Health Region, and the Saskatoon Police Service.
For more information, visit saskatoon.ca and enter 'Traffic Safety Plan' in the search field.
Media, for more information:
Jay Magus, Engineering Manager
Transportation
City of Saskatoon
306-975-3171
Peter Park, Associate Professor
College of Engineering
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-1314
Carl Kuhnke, Managing Director
SCETI
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-5034
"Saskatoon is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada," notes Carl Kuhnke, Managing Director of SCETI (University of Saskatchewan). "Our centre encourages and funds innovative ideas that utilize the expertise at the university; this traffic safety initiative was an obvious one for us." Kuhnke says the work of the research team, combined with expertise at the City and Saskatoon Police Service, has provided strong guidance for the City to accurately prioritize their traffic safety strategies based on historical, current, and forecast needs. The university research team was led by Dr. Peter Park, Associate Professor of Civil and Geological Engineering.
The Strategic Traffic Safety Action Plan identifies seven areas of emphasis for traffic safety including aggressive, distracted and impaired driving; intersections; older and younger drivers; and vulnerable road users (e.g. pedestrians and cyclists). Over 30 collaborative and data-driven strategies are recommended to address traffic safety, focusing on education, enforcement, and/or engineering. Examples of these include improved traffic signal operation, well maintained pavement markings, and public education around impaired and distracted driving. These strategies were developed in partnership with the Saskatoon Board of Education, SGI, the Saskatoon Health Region, and the Saskatoon Police Service.
For more information, visit saskatoon.ca and enter 'Traffic Safety Plan' in the search field.
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Media, for more information:
Jay Magus, Engineering Manager
Transportation
City of Saskatoon
306-975-3171
Peter Park, Associate Professor
College of Engineering
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-1314
Carl Kuhnke, Managing Director
SCETI
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-5034