Grants provide initiatives to improve mobility and road safety
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) and the Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization (CORPO) will be awarded $4.8 million in federal funds for the proposed Coalition for Integrated Road User Safety (CIRUS) planning initiative.
CIRUS, a three-year $6 million public-private partnership, is aimed at increasing roadway safety for all users across Central Ohio. It focuses on seven rural counties and is part of a broader effort to improve transportation infrastructure and safety in the region. The initiative includes road safety audits, evaluation of advanced vehicle safety, and identification of high-risk rural corridors.
MORPC is excited to partner with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), Honda, Transportation Research Center (TRC), the Ohio State University (OSU), and many other stakeholders to improve roadway safety throughout Central Ohio. Central Ohio’s seven-county rural area is projected to add more than 130,000 residents and 47,000 new jobs over the next 25 years. With so many additional residents using the region’s roadways, prioritizing and improving transportation safety is vital. CIRUS will promote regional coordination, and will focus on Safer Roads, Safer Speeds, Safer Vehicles and Post-Crash Care.
MORPC has partnered with seven counties in the nonmetropolitan areas of the Central Ohio region to offer transportation planning products and services in CORPO. The seven counties that consist of the CORPO areas are Fairfield, Knox, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Pickaway, and Union. CIRUS will become a national model for public-private partnerships and for rural transportation safety with a commitment to reducing fatal and serious injury crashes on CORPO roadways.
In 2022, MORPC also received a $200,000 Safe Streets for All planning award to develop a comprehensive Safety Action Plan for the CORPO planning area. The CORPO Safety Action Plan, identified region-wide safety needs, key strategies and action items. Recognizing the need for a coordinated, context-sensitive, and data-informed approach to implementation, MORPC convened strategic partners to launch the proposed CIRUS initiative.
For more information, please visit Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization (CORPO) – MORPC.org.
