City of Shelton seeks to make its roads safer

Of the 16 fatal and serious vehicle accidents that occurred in Shelton from 2016 to 2020, 10 involved pedestrians and bicyclists.

“This was a startling percentage of the crashes,” consultant Ryan Shea of SCJ Alliance of Lacey on Tuesday told the Shelton City Council.

The council voted unanimously to give final approval to a Road Safety Plan developed by the city and SCJ Alliance. The council gave preliminary approval at its Jan. 4 meeting.

The city will use the plan to apply for a share of $35 million of federal Highway Safety Improvement Program money in 2023 that the state will distribute. March 4 is the deadline to apply, and the council will decide which projects to request money.

The city paid SCJ Alliance $30,000 to prepare the Road Safety Plan based on crash data provided by the city from 2016 to 2020. Those numbers came from the state Department of Transportation, which compiled all the crash reports in the city reported by law enforcement officials. Crashes on U.S. Highway 101 through the city were not included.

During that five-year period, 832 crashes were reported on Shelton streets. Of the 16 serious accidents, four occurred on state Route 3 within the city limits, three were on Olympic Highway North and nine occurred on other streets.

In applying for the federal money, the city can find “themes and commonalities” in the sites of the most serious accidents, Shea said. For instance, the city could ask for flashing-light pedestrian crosswalks, he said.

The city can also seek “spot improvements” at solo trouble spots, Shea said.

If the city receives some of the federal money, it will be required to put up a 10% in matching money in its 2024 budget.

The plan pinpoints six “high priority corridors”: Olympic Highways North and South, West Railroad Avenue, North Seventh Street, East Wallace Kneeland Boulevard and South First Street.

Shea stressed that the city and consultants sought comments from residents and such stakeholders as the Shelton School District. Those comments led to traffic assessments at seven corridors:

■ A midblock pedestrian crossing on East Wallace Kneeland Boulevard next to Oakland Bay Junior High School.

■ A pedestrian crossing on West Railroad Avenue between Fourth and Second streets.

■ Speeding and pedestrian concerns on East Arcadia Avenue.

■ Afternoon traffic on East K Street, home to Mountain View Elementary School and Olympic Middle School.

■ Sight distance problems at Pine Street and West Railroad Avenue.

■ Steepness, sight and dust problems on East Fir Street in the Capital Hill area

■ A proposed south leg pedestrian crossing at North 13th Street and Shelton Springs Road, in front of the Olympic College Shelton and Cedar High School campus.