Complete Streets Safety Assessments (CSSA)

SafeTREC is offering free Complete Streets Safety Assessments (CSSA) to 16 California communities, including cities, counties, and school campuses with a population of over 2,500 people. CSSAs are comprehensive transportation safety assessments that focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety. They help local agencies 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 UCB.

222 Traffic Safety Assessments 1998-2015; 88 Pedestrian Safety Assessments 2007-2015; 6 Bicycle Assessments 2012-2015; 5 PedBike Assessments 2012--2015; 10 Rural Assessments 2013-2015; 80 CSSAs 2015-2022


The Complete Streets Safety Assessment (CSSA)

When a local agency 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 of local agency staff and then schedule an in-person site visit to the local agency. They review available safety data such as Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System (SWITRS) and Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) rankings. Based on the available crash data and discussions with local agency 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 local agency 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 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. 

Crossing guard at a pedestrian crossing in Claremont, CA

CSSA in the City of Claremont, 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 is by providing a tool for communication among departments within a local agency, as well as with Caltrans and other stakeholders, to discuss opportunities for enhancing safety for all users of public roadways. The CSSAs give agencies a resource or a supporting document for applying for funding. Explore the City of Suisun City Complete Streets Safety Assessment Final Report to learn more about the CSSAs.

The 2023 CSSA Program

Applications are now closed for the 2023 program. Have questions about the CSSA? Interested in being considered for the next round of CSSAs? Please contact us at safetrec@berkeley.edu.

Upcoming Events

Implementing Complete Streets Safety Assessment (CSSA) Improvements: A Peer Exchange

Thursday, September 14, 2023 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM  PT

is excited to announce our second online peer exchange session 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. This peer exchange is designed to support agencies as they work to implement safety improvements as suggested in their CSSA final reports.

Join us on Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 2pm as two local agencies discuss their experiences implementing safety improvements, the challenges they faced, and how they overcame them. REGISTER NOW.

Presenters: 

If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning) to fully participate in this event, please contact our Access Coordinator Lisa Peterson at lisapeterson@berkeley.edu with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event.

The 2022 CSSA Program

For the 2022 Complete Streets Safety Assessment Program we partnered with the 12 communities throughout California listed below. Explore the links to final reports as they become available, for more information about each community's safety assessment, field walking audit observations, and suggestions for potential complete streets improvements.

  • City of Brisbane: Final Report coming soon!
  • City of American Canyon: Final Report coming soon!
  • City of Cloverdale: Final Report coming soon!
  • City of Fort Bragg: Final Report coming soon!
  • City of Fortuna: Final Report coming soon!
  • County of Tuolumne - Tuolumne Townsite: Final Report coming soon!
  • City of Berkeley: Final Report coming soon!
  • County of Marin (City of Mill Valley): Final Report
  • Cal Poly Pomona: Final Report
  • City of McFarland: Final Report coming soon!
  • City of Claremont: Final Report
  • City of Crescent City: Final Report

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.

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