Ashland is One of Four Oregon Cities to Benefit from Funding to Improve Road Safety

ASHLAND, Ore — Ashland is one of four Oregon cities to benefit from a $3 million plan to improve road safety within city limits. The grant is from the U.S. Department of Transportation and was announced by state Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden.

Four Different Counties Will Benefit from the Funds

The funds are spread across four different counties, and the lion’s share will go to Klamath Falls in Klamath County, where $2 million will improve road safety at city intersections.

Amounts of $320 000 have been allocated to Tangent, Linn County, to create a safety action plan and to Milwaukie in Clackamas County to improve the Harrison St. Corridor and to identify traffic safety hotspots.

Ashland will receive $280,000 to develop a comprehensive road safety action plan. The plan uses a Department of Transportation framework in which data analyzes accident hotspots within a region. The analysis enables planners to develop an improved road safety plan.

Ashland Public Works Director Scott Fleury says the Transportation Department funding will enable the city to address road safety hotspots and to align improvements with current community goals.

Takeaway

In the meantime, Ashland has already installed bike boxes at the Ashland St. and Walker St. intersection and will soon install bike boxes at the N Mountain Ave. and East Main St. intersection. Bike boxes are painted areas for the exclusive use of cyclists waiting to cross intersections controlled by traffic lights.