About the project
What is a safety action plan?
Safety action plans (also known as transportation safety plans) act as guides to reduce and eliminate serious-injury and fatal crashes impacting all road users in a community, including people in vehicles, walking, bicycling, rolling, and using transit. These plans use data analysis and community input to identify what traffic safety problems are, how they occur, and what improvements a community can use to reduce risk and prevent deaths and serious injuries.
Who developed the Greater Ashburn Safety Action Plan?
The safety action plan was developed by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and a consulting team from TYLin. The Greater Ashburn Development Association (GADA) was the key community partner during the planning process, and both GADA and the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) are implementation partners for the final plan. Ashburn community members and stakeholders were involved in the planning process to provide local expertise and ongoing input.
What happens now that the plan is finished?
The Greater Ashburn community (including the Greater Ashburn Development Association) can work with the City of Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and other eligible partners to leverage funding from the federal Safe Streets for All (SS4A) program to implement projects and strategies recommended in the plan.
Why did Ashburn need a safety action plan?
Between 2019 and 2023, 6,293 crashes occurred in Ashburn. 175 of these crashes resulted in 202 serious injuries and 19 fatalities. Coordinated efforts by local agencies and community partners to make roads and streets safer for all road users can prevent these tragedies. A safety action plan is a crucial tool to identify why severe and fatal crashes are occurring, where they are occurring, and what kinds of improvements are needed to prevent them.
Who is CMAP?
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is the regional planning agency for northeastern Illinois. CMAP serves the Chicago region's seven counties and 284 municipalities. CMAP and its partners are implementing the ON TO 2050, a long-range plan to help the counties and communities of northeastern Illinois implement strategies that address transportation, housing, economic development, open space, the environment, and other quality-of-life issues. To learn more about CMAP, visit www.cmap.illinois.gov.
The Greater Ashburn Safety Action Plan was part of CMAP’s Technical Assistance program and funded through CMAP’s safety program, Safe Travel for All Roadmap (STAR). Concurrently, CMAP worked with six counties — Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will — to develop county safety action plans as part of CMAP’s STAR program. The plans identify context-specific strategies to improve roadway safety for all users, particularly vulnerable users. Learn more about the Cook County Safety Action Plan, in which the City of Chicago is part of, at this link.