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NEW ULM--Last week, the New Ulm City Council formally adopted the New Ulm Safety Action Plan, updated Complete Streets Policy and Crosswalk Policy.
The city has contracted with SRF Consulting Group to help establish the plan and policies. Ahead of approval, the SRF safety and research project manager, Nicole Bitzan, provided a review of the plan and policies.
In 2021, the U.S. Congress enacted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) that established the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program.
The SS4A program provides discretionary grants to local, regional, and Tribal governments focused on the prevention of deaths and serious injuries on our local and regional roadway system.
Bitzan said in 2024, New Ulm was awarded safety funding from the SS4A program, which led to the creation of the Safety Action Plan (SAP).
Bitzan said the overall goal adopted by the city and the plan's steering committee is to reach zero traffic death and serious injuries on all New Ulm Streets by 2045. There was also an intermediate goal to reduce serious crashes by 60-70% within 10 years.
Bitzan said in preparing the SAP, the consulting group reviewed crash data in New Ulm over five years between 2020 and 2024. In that time period, there were 655 car crashes in New Ulm. One was fatal and 15 involved serious injuries. Most were intersection accidents, with few accidents along a corridor.
The more sever crashes tended to be located in the center of New Ulm along the Broadway corridor.
Non-motorized crashes were relatively low in New Ulm, but are disproportionately associated with serious injuries and fatalities. Most of the non-motorized crashes are concentrated along Broadway at the Center and Highway 14 intersection.
Bitzan said the consulting group and community steering group utilized community input and surveys to determine which areas to prioritize.
She said a common theme from community input was speed. There were many respondents who felt traffic was moving too fast through certain corridors, particularly those near school zones.
The Garden Street and Center Street corridors were the most referenced areas on the mail-in survey.
There was also concerns regarding intersections with blocked sight lines.
Bitzan said several respondents raised concerns about pedestrian safety due to missing sidewalks,
uneven pavement, and poor winter maintenance. Snow and ice not being cleared from
sidewalks and curb ramps was a common issue, particularly near downtown, schools, hills and vacant properties.
Community respondents want to see gaps in the pedestrian and bicycle crossing to be filled to improve safety.
City Council President Andrea Boettger asked how community involvement on the project compared to other communities creating similar plans and if there were any surprises.
"The engagement was surprising," Bitzan said.
SRF Consulting received more feedback in New Ulm than they typically do from other communities, but Bitzan added the responses were not too surprising. Most communities report concerns over speeding, distracted driving and safe bike and pedestrian crossings.
City Engineer Joe Stadheim agreed that public participation was higher than he expected. He said around 50% of the mail surveys were returned.
City Councilor Tom Schmitz said he was extremely supportive of the work on the safety plan and policies and was grateful for the steering committee who helped through the process.
He made the motion to adopt the New Ulm Safety Action Plan, the updated completed streets policy and crosswalk policy, which was approved by the council.
A full copy of New Ulm's Safety Action Plan is available on the city's website at: https://www.newulmmn.gov/602/Safety-Action-Plan