Ohio State receives $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to support its program ‘Protecting Vulnerable Roadway Users: A Multimodal Safety Plan.’ The plan is set to begin implementation in Spring 2025. Credit: Garret Travers | Lantern Reporter
The Ohio State Department of Administration and Planning has received a $300,000 safety grant from the United States Department of Transportation to create safer, more sustainable routes for students, staff and visitors.
The department will launch the “Protecting Vulnerable Roadway Users: A Multimodal Safety Plan” in spring 2025, after receiving the Safe Streets and Roads for All — or SS4A — grant, said Andrew Neil, the university’s assistant director of sustainability for Facilities, Operations and Development.
“Multimodal” refers to various forms of transportation, including walking, biking and driving. The upcoming plan aims to make campus “safer, more equitable and sustainable for everyone,” Neil said.
“We went through a competitive process to get this award,” Neil said. “This was a joint effort by Facilities, Operation and Development, Sustainability, my team, Planning, Architecture and Real Estate and Transportation and Traffic management. This will kind of allow us to dive deeper and really focus on safety, accessibility and equity in our transportation network across campus.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation launched its SS4A program following the 2022 passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program funds “regional, local, and Tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries,” according to the department’s website.
At Ohio State, the $300,000 SS4A grant will be used to hire a consultant to help target problem areas across campus, Neil said.
“One of the requirements will be that [the consultant will] be competent in complete street design and safe systems approach,” Neil said. “And they’re gonna help us guide this process over the next two years to really develop this plan.”
The university also received a letter of support from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission during the grant application process. The letter — sent to The Lantern by MORPC’s active transportation and safety program manager, Lauren Cardoni — emphasized the SS4A grant’s ability to make Ohio State’s campus safer.
“This SS4A grant is necessary to continue the positive momentum in the campus environment and provide safer multimodal connections for students, faculty, staff, residents, patients, visitors and users of all ages and abilities,” according to the MORPC support letter. “By planning for the diverse needs and challenges faced by vulnerable roadway users, we can work towards creating a comprehensive transportation network that promotes safety, accessibility, and equity for all.”
Next semester, the Department of Administration and Planning will conduct studies and surveys without altering current infrastructure, Neil said. This phase will “make the streets safer” and more equitable by identifying and remedying problem areas on and around campus.
“Whether you’re walking, you don’t own a car, you have a bike, you’re on a scooter, you’re taking transit or even if you have a car, right?” Neil said. “Everyone has to get to a place on campus. And, hopefully, by making everything safer, everyone feels like they’re on the same level.”
Ohio State’s multimodal safety plan aligns with other initiatives promoting safe, sustainable travel, including Vision Zero Columbus, which aims to completely eliminate crash-related fatalities, according to its website. The plan also supports the Central Ohio Transportation Safety Plan, which was developed by MORPC with input from Ohio State staff, according to its support letter.
“Fatal crashes in our region increased by 33% over the 2017-2021 timeframe, and 2021 represented the deadliest year on record with 153 total fatalities,” the support letter states. “The Ohio State University, including the surrounding University District, is the densest neighborhood in Central Ohio. It is identified as a Community of Interest (COI) in the City of Columbus’ Vision Zero plan and several campus streets are considered part of the High Injury Network (HIN).”
Additionally, the plan is a continuation of Ohio State’s Framework 3.0 project, which includes infrastructure changes for the university’s Columbus campus — such as resident hall renovations, the construction of Carmenton and “[de-densifying] housing rooms” — according to the Planning, Architecture and Real Estate department’s website.
“So, we’re really invested in state mobility, and this study that we applied for is going to allow us to build off of our Framework 3.0 plan that we did last year,” Neil said. “I think one of the core aspects of that framework plan was just kind of excess accessibility and connectivity across campus. So, I think that this plan allows us to take those high-level views and really develop the actual strategies to make those goals happen.”
As Ohio State’s administration and planning team prepares to create safer campus infrastructure next semester, Neil said the ultimate goal is to make the university more accessible and safer for all.
“I think sometimes some of our work is behind the curtains, behind the walls, and students don’t get to see that,” Neil said. “So, I just want students to know that we are thinking about a safe campus, a connected campus, an accessible campus and an equitable campus. And, you know, we’re really hoping to make some really positive impacts here in the next few years.”
