Traffic & Safety Services provides technical assistance and training to local jurisdictions to increase the safety and mobility of multimodal roadway users. We promote and facilitate information sharing between jurisdictions and serve as a liaison between them. We also provide project development support for federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding, which includes the City Safety, County Safety, and Railway-Highway Crossings Programs.

Providing technical assistance, and connecting local jurisdictions with other WSDOT offices or the Federal Highway Administration to provide technical assistance. Here are some example topics:

• Access management
• Applying traffic laws,rules, and design standards.
• Using traffic control devices, including:
  - The 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which provides national standards and best practices for the use of traffic control devices.
  - WAC 468-95, which modifies the MUTCD for Washington state's circumstances and must be used with the MUTCD.
  - Changes and experimentations for the MUTCD
• Helping apply tools to manage motor vehicle speed and access, including traffic calming, road diets, complete streets, and access management.
• Helping reduce crashes, including fatal and serious injury crashes by:
  - Helping analyze crash data once it is obtained. Helping develop solutions that have the potential to reduce crashes.
  - Conducting operational reviews of roads and streets.
  - Developing or updating local road safety plans (pdf 276 kb)
• Helping develop projects for Federal Highway Administration's Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration Program funding.
• High friction surface treatments (pdf 193 kb)
• Loaning equipment: Contact us to borrow the following:
  • Ball bank indicator for horizontal curves
    (used to determine appropriate curve warning speeds for horizontal curves)
  • Traffic sign retroreflectometer (used to measure sign retroreflectivity levels)
  • Retroreflective sign calibration panels
    (used to calibrate devices to measure retroreflectivity)
  • Retroreflective traffic sign panel comparison kit
    (used to compare existing signs to minimum retroreflectivity levels)
  • Smart level (used to measure slopes of roadways and ramps)
• Nighttime visibility (traffic signs, pavement markings, and roadway lighting)
• Traffic analysis
• Traffic signals: increasing traffic signal operations and/or visibility (pdf 58 kb)
• Roundabouts (pdf 142 kb)
• Shoulder treatments such as rumble strips and Safety Edge
• Work zone safety and mobility

Helping local agencies learn from their peers: Traffic & Safety Services provides opportunities for local jurisdictions and their partners to connect with their peers through the Washington Transportation Professionals.

Providing technical and project development support for federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding, which includes the City Safety, County Safety, and Railway-Highway Crossings Programs.

For more information:
Contact the City Safety & Traffic Programs Manager