Federal grant to help Fort Smith install safety measures on streets

Fort Smith has received a $1.241 million federal grant to advance the city’s Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, also known as the Safe Fort Smith Plan. Part of the funds will be used to install “traffic calming” measures.

This is the second grant the city has received that is funded through the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program and will allow work to begin on improvements aimed at enhancing road safety and promoting multimodal transportation options along Park and Grand avenues, a news release from the city said.

The grant will support a demonstration project along Park Avenue, implementing traffic-calming measures, pedestrian crossings, and cycling infrastructure aimed at reducing accidents and improving safety in a high-injury area of the city.

Traffic-calming measures are tools and strategies designed to make roads safer and encourage responsible driving by slowing traffic and improving conditions for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers alike, said Josh Buchfink, public relations manager for the City of Fort Smith.

“They help create safer streets and reduce the risk of accidents, especially in areas where there’s a lot of pedestrian or cyclist traffic,” Buchfink said.

Along Park Avenue, Fort Smith will reduce lane widths on the street to 10 feet to naturally lower vehicle speeds, as well as reduce speed limits, which will improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists, Buchfink said.

The city also will create dedicated bike lanes along the avenue, installing eight-foot-wide bike lanes (four feet in each direction) with a two-foot buffer marked by “armadillos (delineators) for added safety. Other traffic-calming measures will include speed feedback signs, enhanced crosswalks and signage and bicycle boulevard improvements that incorporate stamped sharrows, flexible posts and delineators to ensure visibility and safety for cyclists, Buchfink said.

“Park Avenue is part of Fort Smith’s High Injury Network, where data shows a concentration of severe traffic accidents, including those involving vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists,” he said.

There were 113 crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists from 2020 to 2022, and a notable number of those occurred along Park Avenue.

“One major contributing factor to these crashes is the width of Park Avenue, which currently encourages higher vehicle speeds. The proposed traffic-calming measures will not only reduce speeds but will also improve conditions for cyclists and pedestrians,” Buchfink said.

The Park Avenue demonstration project aims to achieve better multimodal connectivity between educational institutions including Northside High School, the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and Park Elementary School.

“Enhancing transportation safety and accessibility around our campus is critical to ensuring our students, faculty, and staff have safe access to campus.These infrastructure improvements will also strengthen the connections between our campus community and local businesses, K-12 schools, parks, and community spaces make our region so unique,” said Dr. Teresa Riley, UAFS chancellor.

The project supported by the grant also will include a supplemental corridor-wide planning study for Grand Avenue, which will address long-term safety and connectivity goals for the highly-utilized area, Buchfink said. The initiatives will help Fort Smith residents by safely connecting educational institutions (including UAFS), parks and neighborhoods, he added.

“The Safe Fort Smith Plan reflects the city’s commitment to eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2050. The improvements will provide safer options for cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers alike by focusing on creating a safer and healthier environment for all residents,”noted a city statement.

Though the Safety Fort Smith Plan outlines several potential countermeasures for consideration on Grand Avenue. The SS4A grant will fund a corridor-wide study of Grand Avenue, which could lead to additional countermeasure recommendations, Buchfink said. Grand Avenue is another area identified in the Safe Fort Smith Plan’s High Injury Network as a priority project due to the concentration of severe traffic accidents, including those involving pedestrians and cyclists.

“This project is a vital part of our ongoing efforts to improve safety and connectivity throughout Fort Smith,” said City Administrator Carl Geffken.“We’re grateful for this federal support, which will enable us to implement innovative solutions and take a significant step toward creating a safer, more accessible city.”

The project is anticipated to begin in 2025, with a scheduled completion date of November 2026.