We all want to be able to move about safely in our community on our roads, sidewalks and pathways. While the City does not own and operate the road system, we work in constant partnership with the teams at the Ada County Highway District (ACHD) to ensure that transportation and road infrastructure initiatives are continuing to lead to a safe and connected system. This means we prioritize, plan, and advocate with our partners at ACHD and West Ada School District (WASD) to increase mobility along our roads, sidewalks and pathways while traveling to schools, parks and areas of community interest.

With occurrences of tragic incidents in Meridian at intersections involving our youth, the continued push for safety has heightened to the need for further review. To accomplish that goal, the City of Meridian and our partners at ACHD and WASD have established the Intersection and Pedestrian Safety Task Force to examine pedestrian safety at signalized intersections and pedestrian crossings, with additional focus around schools in Meridian. 

The importance of keeping our community safe and walkable through responsible transportation planning and enforcement practices is paramount. Pedestrians and other non-vehicle travelers have an expectation of safety using the transportation network without worrying about being struck by a vehicle. While each of our partner agencies regularly look at these types of issues in their annual work plan effort, the Intersection and Pedestrian Safety Taskforce will have our agencies and partners working together in a targeted and expedited approach.

This taskforce is charged with evaluating every signalized intersection and determining if changes are needed for improved safety of all users. The Task Force is expected to work on this project over the next six months and will consider various factors including school characteristics, traffic signals, available pedestrian facilities, and road characteristics such as speed limits, lane counts and more. Once completed, we will have a list of recommended solutions that improve our roads, sidewalks and pathways for all users whether through retrofits or new enhancements.

I want to say thank you to our partners at ACHD and WASD for participating in the Intersection and Pedestrian Safety Task Force. If you are interested in learning more about these efforts, the Task Force will be discussed at the ACHD & City Joint Meeting, scheduled February 23^rd at 4:00 pm. Residents are welcomed to watch the meeting live from our website at www.meridiancity.org/live. There will also be discussions about ACHD’s Integrated Five-Year Work Plan, the plan that prioritizes which projects in Meridian are crucial for ACHD to pursue over the next five years. There are a lot of projects slated for Meridian, and this task force will ensure that Meridian continues to make safety a top priority.