Traffic deaths and serious injuries are not only unacceptable, but are also entirely preventable.

This belief is the foundation of the MIC’s Safety Action Plan.

Its goal is to develop a holistic strategy to eliminate roadway fatalities and serious injuries within the Duluth-Superior planning area. It will identify high-risk locations and and evidence-based safety countermeasures to improve road safety for everyone who drives, walks, bikes, rolls, or takes transit throughout the greater Duluth-Superior area.

Phase 1 — Work Completed to Date (2022-2024)

Two key components of this Plan, the technical Safety Analysis and Project and Strategy Selection, were completed in December 2024, funded by the MIC’s regular work program and budget. Based on analysis of 2017-2021 collision data and input from MIC-area engineers and planners, the resulting Safety Action Plan Phase 1 Project Summary provides the foundation for the final Plan..

Phase 2 — Action Plan Completion (2025-2026)

The MIC received funding from the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program and from the MnDOT IIJA Discretionary Match Program to complete the comprehensive MIC Area Safety Action Plan.

This planning work will be undertaken from October 2025 through September 2026, will be consultant-led, and will build upon and incorporate the MIC’s Phase 1 work.

Our team will focus on the other components of a Safety Action Plan, including:

  • Gathering public input in collaboration with community partners, and incorporating this qualitative data into the Phase 1 findings, to make sure the project is identifying the most significant needs across the region;
  • Reviewing existing policies from a Safe Systems perspective;
  • Engaging community leaders and elected officials to foster a widespread safety culture to reach the ambitious goal of eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries within the Duluth-Superior area;
  • Developing metrics to assess progress toward meeting this goal.

Use contact info, at right, to let us know if you wish to be notified about opportunities to give input.

Foundations of the MIC’s Comprehensive Safety Action Plan

The MIC’s work to develop a Safety Action Plan for the greater Duluth-Superior area is based on and will support:

What is a Safety Action Plan?
A comprehensive Safety Action Plan is a holistic, data-driven strategy to improve safety for all roadway users and to prevent crashes that result in serious-injuries and fatalities. It can help to:
• Promote a community-wide safety culture and encourage inter-jurisdictional collaboration;
• Refocus transportation system design and operation on anticipating human mistakes and lessening impact forces to reduce crash severity and save lives;
• Prioritize safety improvements, justify investment decisions, and support transportation improvement grant applications by local jurisdictions.

What will the MIC’s Safety Action Plan Include?
Based on data analysis and stakeholder input, the final Plan will identify top safety issues and high-risk locations in the MIC Area and produce a prioritized list of safety improvement projects.
• Identification of top safety issues and improvement projects will consider all modes of transportation
• The action plan will address not only discrete, location-specific safety issues, but also systemic safety needs and/or policies
• The action plan will guide transportation investment decisions based on safety considerations, and support safety project grant applications by local jurisdictions
• The planning process will aim to engage community leaders and foster a community-wide safety culture

What is the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Grant Program?
The SS4A grant program is guided by the Safe System Approach, which involves a paradigm shift to improve safety culture, increase collaboration across all safety stakeholders, and refocus transportation system design and operation on anticipating human mistakes and lessening impact forces to reduce crash severity and save lives.
S4A Safety Action Plan Components include:
• Leadership Commitment and Goal Setting
• Planning Structure
• Safety Analysis
• Engagement and Collaboration
• Equity Considerations
• Policy and Process Changes
• Strategy and Project Selection
• Progress and Transparency

What is the Safe System Approach?
The Safe System Approach is a holistic and comprehensive approach that provides a framework to address roadway safety. It works by building and reinforcing multiple layers of protection to both prevent crashes from happening in the first place and to minimize the harm caused to those involved when crashes do occur. It is a holistic and comprehensive approach that provides a guiding framework to make places safer for people.

This is a shift from a conventional safety approach because it focuses on both human mistakes AND human vulnerability and designs a system with many redundancies in place to protect everyone.

 

MIC Area SAP Phase 1 Summary Report (Dec. 2024)

MIC-Safety-Action-Plan_Phase-1_Summary_with_Appendices.pdf