Kannapolis asking for public input on road safety study

KANNAPOLIS — The city is asking for the public’s thoughts on the most dangerous roadways and intersections in the city in an effort to create a comprehensive safety study for roads.

Kannapolis received a federal grant of $160,000 in 2022 from the Safe Streets for All for the study which has an overall cost of $200,000. According to a release from the city’s Communication Director, Annette Keller, the funds will be used to study all the major transportation corridors in the city, such as Cannon Boulevard, Kannapolis Parkway, the corridors leading into downtown and all the I-85 exits in the city. The goal is to identify the five intersections or street segments that have the highest number of fatal or serious injury crashes and develop a plan for how to improve these roadways and intersections to make them safe.

Although the grant was approved in late 2022, Keller said city leaders had to wait to get information on how to proceed. Several of the roadways under consideration are state roads, but Keller pointed out that “NCDOT is a partner with us on roadway safety.”

Over the last few years, the city has studied several of these corridors individually, but a comprehensive plan is needed as the number of personal and business vehicles using city streets continues to increase. Over the city’s 224 miles of roadways, most accidents reportedly happen at major intersections, but a study that includes data from official sources will help determine which are highest on the list of attention.

The study should be completed within one year and approved recommendations from the plan would then be incorporated into the city’s capital improvement plan. There will also be applications for implementational funding for projects that meet federal guidelines.

In addition to documented data on accidents, the city is seeking public input, and traffic safety engineers have helped the city craft a survey they are asking the public to fill out. The survey is intended to gather public opinion on which are the most dangerous roads and intersections. Anyone wishing to participate has until Oct. 30 to complete the survey, which can be found at Kannapolis Safety Action Plan Survey (office.com) .

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