Exploring Spatial and Temporal Performance Measurement in Metropolitan Transportation Safety Improvement Programs

Traffic safety strongly impacts the overall health, livability and mobility in our urban areas. In the U.S., there were approximately 42,000 highway-related fatalities in 2003, nearly forty percent occurring in cities. Performance measurements of safety-related investments (particularly noninfrastructure ones) are challenging, encumbered by temporal and spatial variations not easily captured by traditional crash-based performance measures. In this paper, we summarize the results of our study examining the spatiotemporal effects of the Community and School Traffic Safety Partnership (CSTSP) using a geographic information system for display and analysis. The study used enforcement, crash, and other network data to develop spatial and temporal based performance measures, concentrating on a subset of CSTSP investments to reduce driver error (mobile photo radar and automated enforcement red-light running).