More than 130 people died on Phoenix streets in 2023. The city is hoping federal grants can help bring that number down.
The Phoenix City Council on May 20 approved corridor safety projects under the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All program. The item was approved as part of the consent agenda.
The Safe Streets program
Safe Streets and Roads for All, or SS4A, is a U.S. Department of Transportation grant program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It provides federal funding to cities, counties, and tribal governments for roadway safety improvements. The program is designed to help local governments make progress toward Vision Zero — the goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries on public roads.
Phoenix has one of the highest traffic fatality rates among large U.S. cities. Its traffic death count has remained stubbornly high despite national declines in other cities. The city's Road Safety Action Plan, adopted in 2024, set a goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2050. The SS4A grants are one of several funding sources the city is using to make progress toward that goal.
High-injury corridors
The approved projects target high-injury corridors — streets where crash data shows the most severe collisions occur. Phoenix's plan identified specific corridors where infrastructure changes could have the greatest impact on reducing deaths and serious injuries. These corridors typically share characteristics such as wide, multi-lane roads with high vehicle speeds, limited pedestrian crossings, and a mix of land uses that generate activity on both sides of the street.
Typical improvements on high-injury corridors include: - Protected pedestrian crossings and refuge islands at busy intersections, giving people a safe place to wait mid-crossing - Traffic signal timing adjustments that reduce through-vehicle speeds and give pedestrians a head start entering the crosswalk - Protected bike lanes on corridors with high cycling demand, separating cyclists from moving traffic with a physical barrier - Lane reconfigurations or road diets that narrow travel lanes to calm traffic - Improved street lighting at intersections with high nighttime crash rates
The specific corridors and improvement types approved on May 20 were detailed in the agenda materials provided to the council before the vote.
Funding and local match
The federal grant covers the majority of project costs, with a local funding match required from the city. The Safe Streets program requires communities to develop a comprehensive safety action plan before applying for implementation grants. Phoenix completed its plan in 2024, making the city eligible for construction funding.
The Road Safety Action Plan represents a shift in how Phoenix approaches transportation safety. Rather than responding to crashes after they happen, the city is using crash data to identify patterns and make proactive infrastructure changes — before more people are killed or seriously injured on its streets.
The specific corridors and project details are available in the agenda on our meeting tracker.