Complete Streets Safety Assessments (CSSA)

SafeTREC is offering free Complete Streets Safety Assessments (CSSA) to 16 California communities, including cities and public schools/colleges with a population greater than 2,500, all counties, and all Federally Recognized Tribes.

CSSAs are comprehensive transportation safety assessments that focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety. They help eligible communities identify and implement traffic safety solutions that lead to improved safety for all users of California’s roadways.

The CSSA program is funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Up until 2018, the program was coordinated by the Tech Transfer program at UC Berkeley.

The Complete Streets Safety Assessment (CSSA)

When a local agency or Tribe applies for a CSSA and is approved for a study, a team of safety experts in the fields of traffic engineering and planning are assigned to conduct the study for the community. The experts conduct a thorough phone interview with local agency or Tribal staff and then schedule a one-day in-person site visit to the area to be studied. They review available safety data such as Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) and Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) rankings. Based on the available crash data and discussions with local agency or Tribal staff, a list of intersections and roadway segments/corridors with the highest rates of crashes is proposed for the assessment. The experts then visit the study areas to conduct an assessment in the field. The in-person site visit is conducted at various locations (focus areas), as determined in coordination with local agency or Tribal staff. The observations made during the site visit are used to suggest policies and physical improvements that could enhance motor vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle, and transit safety and accessibility. The experts then prepare a report summarizing their findings and suggestions. The suggestions made in the reports are all customized to each community and their needs.

Participants at the Santa Cruz Complete Streets Safety Assessment conducting a walk audit

CSSA in the City of Santa Cruz, CA.

The CSSAs help agencies in their planning for traffic safety projects. The suggestions could be included into Capital Improvement Projects and Pedestrian/Bicycle Master Plans. One other way the program helps local agencies and Tribes is by providing a tool for communication among departments within a local agency, as well as with neighboring cities, counties, Caltrans and other stakeholders, to discuss opportunities for enhancing safety for all users of public roadways. The CSSAs give agencies and Tribes a resource or a supporting document for applying for funding. 

The 2024 CSSA Program

Applications for the 2024 CSSA Program will open in mid-December, 2023 and will be accepted on a rolling basis until all slots are filled. For early consideration, please apply by Friday, January 19, 2024. Have questions or need help with your application? Please email safetrec@berkeley.edu.

Upcoming and Past Events

  • Implementing Complete Streets Safety Assessment (CSSA) Improvements: A Peer Exchange. July 25 and September 14, 2023. SafeTRECwas excited to launch two online peer exchange sessions as part of the Complete Streets Safety Assessment (CSSA) program on how local agencies are successfully implementing complete streets safety improvements to make walking, biking and rolling safer in their communities. These peer exchanges were designed to support agencies as they work to implement safety improvements as suggested in their CSSA final reports.


Questions about the CSSA?

Please contact us at safetrec@berkeley.edu if would like more information about the CSSA program or have any questions.

“The Walking School Bus initiative was inspired by [SafeTREC Staff’s] input when they conducted the Mountain Avenue CSSA near Condit Elementary School...the pilot program was a huge success with almost 40 kids being a part of it."

- Maria Tipping, City Engineer, City of Claremont

Resources

  • Complete Streets and their effect on increasing safety for all road-users (2018): This research brief from UC Berkeley SafeTREC highlights the Complete Streets concept and its effect on increasing  safety for pedestrians and bicyclists in communities.
  • A Technical Guide for Conducting Traffic Safety Assessments for California Communities (2015): This document describes the California Traffic Safety Assessments (TSA) process and provides guidelines for safety evaluators to conduct these assessments. It synthesizes best practices and research on traffic safety applications. This guidebook targets California Communities, but the methods described are applicable for other states. 
  • A Technical Guide for Conducting Pedestrian Safety Assessments for California Communities (2013): Pedestrian Safety Assessments (PSAs) are one approach to improving pedestrian safety within California communities, because a PSA enables local agencies to systematically identify the issues and problems and effective remedial options. This document describes the California PSA process and provides guidelines for evaluators to conduct PSAs. While this book is targeted for application within California, the methods described are applicable outside California. Users of this guidebook outside California should substitute national or locally adopted standards, practices, or references as needed. 
  • A Technical Guide for Conducting Bicycle Safety Assessments for California Communities (2014): Improving bicycle safety has become increasingly important to California communities, yet remains a challenge for many agencies to accomplish. A Bicycle Safety Assessment (BSA) helps identify safety concerns and offers suggestions for improvement. This document describes the California BSA process and provides guidelines for BSA evaluators to conduct BSAs. It synthesizes current best practices and research on bicycling safety and provides guidelines for bicycling safety applications tailored to meet the needs of local communities in California.

History of the CSSA Program

Traffic, Pedestrian, Bicycle, Rural, and Complete Streets Safety Assessments have been funded by grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) since 1998. The history of the Safety Assessment Program is as follows:

  • 222 Traffic Safety Assessments (TSA) conducted 1998 through 2015

  • 88 Pedestrian Safety Assessments (PSA) conducted 2007 through 2015

  • 6 Bicycle Safety Assessments (BSA) conducted 2012 through 2015

  • 6 Combined Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Assessments conducted 2012 through 2015 

  • 10 Rural Safety Assessments (RSA) conducted 2013 through 2015

  • 96 Complete Streets Safety Assessments (CSSAs) conducted 2015 through 2023

Funding for the CSSA is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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