Dayton Engineers Unveil Road Safety Plan to Reduce Crashes
Anel Solares | Contributing Writer & Flyer News Podcast Manager
DAYTON, Ohio— Engineers working with the City of Dayton showcased new data on roadway accidents in a public forum meeting last Thursday evening, and a safety action plan in progress that could potentially give the city the funds to implement it.
The meeting will be the first of many, and came after the city received a Safe Streets and Roads for All Comprehensive Safety Action Plan Grant from the United States Department of Transportation in 2022.
According to Daytonohio.gov, the plan, “is a comprehensive safety plan aimed at reducing and eliminating serious-injury and fatal crashes affecting all roadway users.”
The plan’s goal is to save lives and is in response to the several alarming statistics the committee revealed at the meeting from the research they conducted.
There were 684 roadway crashes in Dayton from 2019 to 2023, and of those 684, 97 were fatal. The crash site areas do not include highways, which are covered by the Federal Highway Administration, but local roads, ramps, and intersections.
The plan is based on what’s called a “Safe Systems Approach” which has five basic principles—safer people, safer vehicles, post-crash care, safer speeds, and safer roads.
“I want to move away from being motor-centric to give everyone like pedestrians, wheelchair users, bicyclists, and skateboarders an opportunity,” said Public Works City Engineer David Escobar.
Pedestrians were found to be a part of 112 crashes from the committee’s data, as well as 83 motorcyclists and 25 bicyclists.
To find where crashes were occurring, the committee used a “High Injury Network” to examine indicators and screen the whole network to determine the risks associated with each location.
An “Equity Analysis” was also conducted to pinpoint who is being disproportionately impacted by the crashes, which showed impoverished communities of color to be the main areas affected.
Senior Traffic Safety Specialist Cindy Yerkey describes the committees’ efforts as, “striking the balance between addressing the need and coming up with actionable solutions in a manageable analysis.”
The planning process is currently in its community engagement phase and is scheduled to be finalized in August 2025. The committee will pursue the second implementation grant shortly after.
As for now, the committee urges citizens to spread the plan and provide feedback on location-specific issues through an online map citizens can find here. Citizens can also provide input on their experiences with a brief survey.