Haines is among about 20 Alaska communities around the state that have received federal funding to study local transportation safety and is now seeking public comment for a plan to improve it.
The money comes from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included $5 billion to help local and tribal governments prevent roadway deaths and injuries. The Haines Borough and Chilkoot Indian Association in 2023 applied for funding and were later jointly awarded nearly $200,000.
Southeast Alaska-based civil engineering firm proHNS has been tapped to carry out the project and is currently in a data gathering phase. That entails gathering publicly available data on crashes and accidents and soliciting community feedback through the end of this month.
The contractor is interested in answers to a wide range of questions, said proHNS Project Engineer Ethan Roemeling.
“What are the concerns of the community, where are people seeing issues, what do people want to see change?” he said.
Community members can submit feedback by way of a survey that asks where respondents live, their typical modes of transportation and how safe they feel while walking, driving, cycling and more.
The survey also asks respondents to share their top transportation safety concerns and where they think investment should be prioritized.
Residents can access the survey online, or in-person at the local library, school, borough administration building, Chilkoot Indian Association administration building, senior center and other locations.
More than 200 people have already weighed in, Borough Planner Chen Wu said in early December.
The aim is to pinpoint which roads and intersections need attention. From there, Wu said, the contractor will create an action plan which will be used to seek additional dollars to fund future projects.
“If we are lucky to be selected for the next phase of implementation grant,” Wu said, “we’re going to have more resources to improve the streets, improve the construction or improve the design.”
Alaska Municipal League Executive Director Nils Andreasson said his organization is working with a cohort of around 20 other communities that have also received funding.
“We’ve talked about a vision of every local government in Alaska having a Safety Action Plan of this nature,” Andreasson said.
Overall, he said, Alaska has accessed an impressive amount of funding through the Biden-era infrastructure legislation.
“And every dollar that’s coming from the federal or state level is reducing the burden on local taxpayers for having to make similar kinds of investments,” Andreasson added.
Haines borough residents can respond to the survey through Dec. 31.
