CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NEWS RELEASE 2800 BERLIN TURNPIKE P.O. BOX 317546 NEWINGTON CONNECTICUT, 06131-7546

FOR RELEASE: April 20, 2016

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS TELEPHONE: (860) 594-3062 FAX: (860) 594-3065 WEB SITE: www.ct.gov/dot

Community Connectivity Program – Road Safety Audits Announced

      The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) today announced Road Safety Audits (RSAs) will be conducted in 81 communities that submitted applications to CTDOT earlier this year.  The Road Safety Audits are a component of the “Community Connectivity Program,” designed to improve conditions for walking and bicycling to and within urban, suburban and rural community centers.  It is one of the outputs from Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s newly authorized Let’s GO CT program, which addresses short- and long-term transportation needs across the state.  By making conditions safer and more accommodating for pedestrians and cyclists, the program will encourage more people to use these healthy and environmentally sustainable modes of travel. At the same time, it will make Connecticut’s community centers more attractive and livable places to live and work.

      To achieve the program’s goals, RSA’s are geared toward locations with a focus on bicyclist and pedestrian needs.  An RSA is a formal safety performance examination of an existing road or intersection by an independent, multi-disciplinary team that includes local public agencies.  The audit qualitatively estimates and reports on potential road safety issues and identifies opportunities for improvement in the safety for all road users.  Safety improvements range from short-term low cost measures, such as brush cutting, to long-range higher cost projects, such as roadway realignment.  The one-day RSA will be used to produce a report that will provide short/mid/and long term solutions. 

      The Department is currently working to establish a schedule for conducting one RSA in each of the selected communities.  RSA’s will begin this spring and continuing through the spring of 2017. 

      “The goal of the RSA’s will be to provide local staff with an assessment of the location and recommendations for short, medium and long term options for improving safety for all roadway users,” said Program Manager Patrick Zapatka.

Project Manager Patrick Zapatka may be reached at Patrick.Zapatka@ct.gov.