TRPC looks to crash data, public input as guide for Regional Safety Action Plan

The Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) is developing a plan to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries in the area, drawing on crash data, community feedback and local safety strategies.  

During a Transportation Policy Board (TPB) meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 14, Senior Planner Aiden Dixon presented an update on the Regional Safety Action Plan. The presentation highlighted 20,097 crashes recorded over five years and survey concerns about local roads. 

Dixon said the analysis covered 2021 through 2025, a period in which Thurston County reported 19,128 vehicle-only crashes. Of those crashes, 332 involved a fatality or serious injury.  

Crashes involving vulnerable road users made up a small share of all reported crashes, but accounted for nearly half of the crashes resulting in death or serious injury.  

Pedestrian crashes accounted for 21 percent of fatal or serious-injury crashes, bicyclist crashes for 17 percent, and crashes involving people riding motorcycles or scooters for 6 percent. 

In June, the TRPC launched a roadway safety survey, where about 1,200 responses were gathered. Nearly three-quarters of respondents lived in the Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater urbanized areas, while about 1 in 4 respondents reported having a disability.  

Dixon said the responses offer useful insight, but do not represent the experiences of the entire region.

“Because participation was voluntary, these results reflect the people who responded," he said.

Dixon added that the findings also help the project identify “whose perspectives we need to hear more from in the future.” 

Respondents most often named Martin Way, Interstate 5, Yelm Highway, College Street, U.S. Highway 101 and Pacific Avenue as roads where they feel unsafe.  

Dixon emphasized the roads reflect experiences and perception of safety, not a ranking of crash or risk.  

The most frequently selected improvements included more traffic enforcement, more or better protected bike lanes, and installing or widening shoulders. 

Dixon said respondents have different priorities, including rural residents placing particular emphasis on enforcement and shoulders, while safer intersections were among the leading priorities for respondents with disabilities and lower incomes.  

In a separate question about broad policy approaches, redesigning roads and intersections emerged as the leading priority, with enforcement and driver education also receiving support.  

During the discussion, TPB member Robert Vanderpool urged planners to account for commuting between rural communities and urban centers, such as Olympia. He noted residents without transit service may depend on driving, even as cities work toward more multimodal street designs.  

Dixon said the plan should examine transition areas where road types and speed limits change between rural and urban settings. He said a regional analysis can look across jurisdictional boundaries to identify shared safety concerns. 

The Regional Safety Action Plan is supported by a U.S. Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Roads for All grant. Dixon said the plan is intended to build on existing local plans rather than duplicate them. 

The next phase examines road conditions associated with serious crashes and looks for similar conditions elsewhere, including locations with few recorded serious crashes as a means to identify preventive improvements.  

Dixon expects to return to the board in early 2027 with draft regional and local strategies. The work will include developing an American with Disabilities Act transition plan framework for south county communities.