The U.S. is Putting $800 Million Towards Safer Roads to Combat Traffic Deaths

On Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that $800 million in federal funds would be spent on improving road and sidewalk conditions nationwide in an effort to combat the steep rise in deaths from traffic incidents. The primary focus will be redesigning roads and improving sidewalks in an effort to make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. The money will be granted to different projects around the U.S. through the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program and will initially fund 510 planned initiatives.

The $800 million fund is the highest amount even put into making streets safer, according to Transportation.gov. And the $800 million is only one part of the story: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law introduced by the Biden administration has promised $5 billion over the next five years for regional, local, and Tribal improvements to roads and sidewalks.

“Every year, crashes cost tens of thousands of American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars to our economy; we face a national emergency on our roadways, and it demands urgent action,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “We are proud that these grants will directly support hundreds of communities as they prepare steps that are proven to make roadways safer and save lives.”

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Some of the already-approved initiatives include:

• $12.9 million for Modoc County and Fort Bidwell Tribal Reservation, California, to improve safety along two corridors in rural, disadvantaged communities and Tribal areas by implementing community requests for bicycle lanes, pedestrian crosswalks, speed control, and mobility-assisted support infrastructure.
• $680,000 for the City of San Diego, California, to advance its Safe Streets for All San Diegans proposal, which will build upon the existing safety action plan to develop a speed management plan, pursue quick-build projects, and develop a Slow Streets Program (similar to the Slow Streets that exist in San Francisco).
• $19.7 million for Hillsborough County, Florida, to implement low-cost and proven safety measures including sidewalks, bicycle lanes and speed management to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users and drivers at approximately 22 locations in the county.
• $24.8 million for the City of Detroit, Michigan, to redesign existing transportation infrastructure in high crash areas and places with inadequate pedestrian infrastructure to focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety, and safer speeds for vehicle traffic.

You can view the full list of initiatives here. While not every state has a project in the works, nearly all of them do, and some states like Iowa are pursuing more full-state projects, while others are focused on smaller, targeted changes. (Want to get your city in line for the next set of grants? Find out more here.)

Additionally, a new interactive map developed by the US Department of Transportation shows crash hotspots around the country, and cites a few grim statistics. Did you know that traffic deaths were steadily declining for decades until 2020? Since then, the number of traffic fatalities including cyclists and pedestrians rose sharply. In 2021, an estimated 42,915 people were killed on roads in the US. You can use their new map to see how where you live ranks in terms of safety.