UPDATE: The Road Safety Action Plan has been approved after Wednesday's meeting.
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Original story:
On average, there are 83 crashes daily in Phoenix.
Every other day, a crash costs someone their life.
In a single year, that is 190 people... enough to fill a Boeing 737 plane.
If that Boeing 737 were to crash with no surviving passengers each year, think about what the reaction would be.
The City of Phoenix Street Transportation Department included that statistic in its presentation that will go in front of the City Council at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Road Safety Action Plan is something Operation Safe Roads has followed closely since the City Council first approved the plan's development back in March of 2021.
Since then, work has continued on to evaluate current data, talk with the community, and develop solutions that can be implemented over time with the largest impact on saving lives.
"So, a couple of things with getting the council approval is it first directs our focus, so the strategies so how we're going to make our roads safer, but then it also allocates resources - staffing and funding wise to be able to target and work on reducing those serious injuries and fatalities," Director Kini Knudson said. "But, I think the one thing that's very important as well is, with the federal infrastructure law that was passed last fall, there are specific programs in there that once we have an action plan that's been approved, we're going to be eligible as city to be able to compete for funding at the federal level to help make our roadways safer."
The hope is to allocate $10 million a year to this effort.
The work is critical with Phoenix officials reporting, that they saw their highest number ever of traffic fatalities last year at 231.
Residents can attend the 2:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting in person at 200 W. Jefferson St. Phoenix, Arizona 85003, or watch it online here. Operation Safe Roads will monitor it, as well.
Interested commuters may also view the report ahead of the meeting here.
Have a road issue or a question for Operation Safe Roads? Email roads@abc15.com or call 833-AZ-ROADS