The Genesee County Metropolitan Planning Commission and Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) was honored at the Governor’s Traffic Safety Advisory Commission (GTSAC) annual awards luncheon Wednesday at the Kellogg Conference Center in East Lansing for reducing crashes by reconfiguring 60 road segments using the road diet strategy.
Each year the commission honors organizations, programs and individuals for outstanding contributions to traffic safety. The awards luncheon is part of the 17th Annual Michigan Traffic Safety Summit. One long-term service and five 2011 traffic safety achievement awards are being presented.
The road diet strategy reconfigures four through lanes into two through lanes with a dedicated left turn lane in the middle. This configuration maintains traffic flow while improving motorist safety.
In Genesee County, road diets have been installed on 19 corridors. These roadways have experienced crash reductions between 15 and 47 percent.
Since 1997, MDOT has successfully converted 44 road segments across the state for a total length of 47 miles of three-lane roadway. The agency’s first conversion on M-43, west of Michigan State University, has resulted in a 26 percent crash reduction, including a 37 percent reduction in pedestrian crashes and a 36 percent decrease in older driver crashes.
The GTSAC was formed in 2002 to serve as the state’s forum for identifying key traffic safety challenges and developing and implementing plans to address those issues. The GTSAC is comprised of representatives from the departments of: Community Health, Education, State, State Police and Transportation, as well as Office of Services to the Aging, Office of Highway Safety Planning and the Office of the Governor. There are also three representatives from local government appointed by the Governor.
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