Northfield Transportation Advisory Committee Meeting Date: October 21, 2026
To: Members of the Northfield Transportation Advisory Committee
From: David Bennett, Public Works Director/City Engineer
Title
Consider formation of a stakeholder committee for development of Northfield Safe Streets and Roads for All Plan.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield Transportation Advisory Committee recommends to the Mayor and City Councilors the formation of a stakeholder committee for development of Northfield Safe Streets For All Plan.
Summary Report:
The City of Northfield was awarded a USDOT Planning Grant for Safe Streets and Roads for All.
The City Adopted 2025-2028 Strategic Plan includes a strategic initiative to create a Safe Street for All Plan. Completion of the plan will help identify specific priorities for improved pedestrian safety. An Action Plan is required in order to become eligible for Federal Implementation grants. Typically, those grants provide 80% federal funding and 20% local match.
The City is currently in the process of requesting proposals from consultants to assist in the development of the Safe Streets and Roads for All Plan. The consultant, once selected, is anticipated to start development of the plan in 2027. As part of the plan development a stakeholder committee is recommended to be formed to help develop the plan.
Below is an initial draft of list participants in the stakeholder committee:
|
Northfield School District |
Carleton College |
|
Northfield Area Fire & Rescue |
St. Olaf College |
|
Northfield Police |
Chamber of Commerce |
|
Northfield Hospital & Clinics |
NTAC Members |
|
Rice County - Engineer |
Mar Valdecantos |
|
MnDOT District 6 -Rep |
Laura Turek |
Under City Code, the Mayor appoints and Council confirms committee membership. Staff will work in coordination with the Mayor on related detail preparation for the City Council following NTAC recommendation to determine final membership and appointees.
Background
The Safe Streets and Roads for All Comprehensive Safety Action Plan is meant to address and prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries. The components of a safety action plan consist of:
• Leadership Commitment and Goal Setting
o Commitment by Council to an eventual goal of zero roadway fatalities.
o Includes a target date for zero fatalities or a percent reduction by a certain date.
• Planning Structure
o A committee, or similar body, charged with the development of the action plan.
• Safety Analysis
o Analysis of existing and historical trends, crash locations and severity.
o Analysis includes all roadways within the city and identifies high risk locations.
• Engagement and Collaboration
o Robust engagement with the public, including businesses and community groups.
o Engagement with other transportation agencies (townships, cities, county, state).
o The plan is coordinated with other city plans.
• Policy and Process Changes
o Assessment of current policies, plans, guidelines, and standards.
o Identify opportunities to revise or develop new policies, guidelines, or standards.
• Strategy and Project Selection
o Identify a set of projects and strategies that will address safety problems.
o Projects and strategies are prioritized in a list that provides a time range of when the countermeasures are expected to be deployed.
• Progress and Transparency
o Develop a method to measure progress after the plan is developed.
o Develop a method to ensure transparency with the public on progress toward achieving zero roadway fatalities.
From 2018 - 2024 Northfield experienced 5 fatal and 14 serious injury crashes according to MnDOT crash reporting. The previous five years 2013 - 2017 experienced zero fatal and 8 serious injury crashes, indicating a recent increase in crash severity. Developing a Safety Action Plan will allow the city to determine current and future crash prone locations and develop quick, low cost, and effective solutions to safety problems in these areas.
In reviewing some agencies recently completed a Safe Streets and Roads for All Plan, the plans were more in depth than the standard Engineering Toolkit of improvement but thoughtfully identified areas of concern in the City and the developed concepts are more impactful. When you get to the conceptual level, you more easily secure grant funding in the implementation phase. So NTAC should be thinking of areas in the City that we could use more planning focus and have that developed as part of the plan.
City Plans & Policies Relevance:
Northfield Strategic Plan
Alternative Options:
Discussion Only
Financial Impacts:
Grant Funds $300,000
Cash Match $75,000 - Was included in the 2027 requested budget. Staff is including the matching funds subject to grant award in the upcoming 2027 and 2028 Budget
Tentative Timelines:
Plan time is to be completed Fall 2028.