NVCOG’s Transportation Safety Program supports member municipalities by addressing their transportation safety needs through data-driven analysis, technical assistance, and recommendations that help improve conditions for all roadway users.
Technical Memos, Road Safety Audits, and Road Safety Studies form a comprehensive toolkit within NVCOG’s Transportation Safety Program, helping municipalities identify safety concerns, evaluate roadway conditions, and develop strategies that improve safety for all road users. Together, these tools support local decision-making and advance the adopted NVision Zero goal of eliminating serious injuries and fatalities within the NVCOG transportation network by 2060.
Technical Memos
Technical Memos provide targeted, rapid-response data analysis to address localized traffic issues. Findings are presented in a concise memo format that helps municipal leaders better understand safety concerns and identify potential improvements.
- Primary Focus: Immediate analysis of specific, high-concern local traffic safety issues.
- Key Outcome: Actionable, data-driven recommendations for short-term safety enhancements.
- Timeline: Roughly four weeks from initial data collection to draft completion.
Technical Memos can be used to evaluate a wide range of transportation safety concerns, including but not limited to:
- Serious or fatal crash reviews
- Locations with recurring crash patterns
- Intersection safety assessments
- Speeding and traffic calming concerns
- Pedestrian and bicycle safety issues
- Requests from residents, municipal staff, or elected officials
- School, park, or transit access concerns
- Roadway departure crashes and curve safety evaluations
- Crosswalk visibility and accessibility concerns
- Targeted reviews of corridors, intersections, or specific roadway segments
Technical Memos provide a focused, data-driven evaluation of existing conditions and identify practical improvement opportunities that municipalities can advance in the short to medium term. The timeline for completing a Technical Memo is around one month.
Municipalities interested in requesting a Technical memo should contact Kate Pipa at kpipa@nvcogct.gov.
The following are a selection of completed Technical Memos:
- Mountain Road – Woodbury (September 2026)
- Chase Avenue and Hill Street – Waterbury (August 2026)
- East Main Street and William Street – Waterbury (August 2026)
- Route 188 at Silano Drive and Moose Hill Road – Oxford (March 2026)
- Route 6 and Carter Road – Plymouth (February 2026)
- Route 67 North of Route 6 – Southbury (February 2026)
- Route 68 (Cheshire Road), Talmadge Hill Road, and Matthew Street – Prospect (August 2025)
Road Safety Audits
Road Safety Audits (RSA) are formal, multi-disciplinary evaluations of safety performance on existing or future roadways. They combine field teamwork with localized data to evaluate conditions directly from the perspective of all road users. RSAs include a review of crash data, field observations, and input from municipal staff and stakeholders.
- Primary Focus: An on-site, multidisciplinary field review of local safety hazards and road conditions alongside municipal stakeholders.
- Key Outcome: A formal report delivering practical, prioritized safety upgrades (short-, medium-, and long-term actions) to reduce serious crashes.
- Timeline: Three to four months from site selection to the final report.
The primary objective of a Road Safety Audit is to enhance road safety for all users, including motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation users. Specific goals include:
- Identifying Potential Hazards: To detect potential safety issues that could lead to serious or fatal injuries.
- Proactive Measures: To implement safety improvements before incidents occur.
- Cost-Effective Solutions: To recommend cost-effective safety measures that provide the highest benefit.
- Safety for All Users: To ensure the safety of all road users, including vulnerable groups such as pedestrians and cyclists.
- Compliance with Standards: To ensure that roadway designs comply with safety standards and best practices.
From initiation to completion, a Road Safety Audit can be expected to be completed in three to four months. Below is a step-by-step outline of the process.
- Selection of Study Sites
The first step is to select the roadways or projects to be studied. This selection is based on various criteria, such as high accident rates, public complaints, or planned new road projects. Prioritization ensures that resources are allocated to the most critical areas. - Formation of Team
A multidisciplinary team is assembled and led by NVCOG staff, with participation from municipal representatives, such as engineers and public works personnel, and relevant stakeholders, including local officials, emergency services, businesses, and community groups. This diverse team provides a comprehensive evaluation from multiple perspectives. - Preparation
Next, background information is collected, including crash data from previous incidents, traffic volumes, and speed, in order to inform the in-person site visit. - Site Review
The on-site review is the core of the Road Safety Audit process. The team visits the selected roadway or project site to observe its conditions and operations firsthand. During the visit, the team identifies safety issues, assesses traffic flow, and examines road users’ behavior. Photographs and notes are taken to document findings. The field visit is crucial, as it allows the team to gather essential information directly from the site with input from multiple perspectives. - Analysis and Report
After the field audit, the study team analyzes the collected data and identifies safety concerns. They consider factors such as road geometry, signage, lighting, and environmental conditions. The team then compiles a report detailing the identified safety issues and recommends specific improvements. Short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations are given, including recommendations for priority actions based on safety impact, feasibility, and cost. - Recommendations & Implementation
The final step involves reporting the findings back to the project team. Critical recommendations are highlighted which may include physical improvements, such as installing new signage or redesigning intersections, as well as operational changes, such as adjusting traffic signal timings. The team works with relevant authorities to prioritize and implement the most effective solutions.
The following criteria will be considered as part of future project prioritization and selection:
- Projects that promote holistic and regionally significant outcomes
- Address safety concerns at locations with a history of fatal and serious injury crashes
- Address safety concerns for vulnerable road users
- Address emerging safety concern areas
- Benefit underserved communities
- Geographic distribution
Municipalities interested in conducting a Road Safety Audit should contact Kate Pipa kpipa@nvcogct.gov.
- Christian Road and Route 188 – Middlebury (June 2026)
- This Road Safety Audit evaluated safety and operational conditions at the intersection of Christian Road and Route 188 (Southford Road) in Middlebury. The study identified issues related to sight distance, vehicle speeds, intersection geometry, and truck traffic, and developed short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations to improve safety and operations.
- Thomaston Avenue – Waterbury (January 2025)
- This Road Safety Audit examined approximately two miles of Thomaston Avenue (Route 847), a high-injury corridor connecting Downtown Waterbury and the Waterville neighborhood. The study evaluated crash history, speeding, pedestrian safety, and roadway conditions, and identified recommendations to reduce serious crashes and improve safety for all roadway users.
Road Safety Studies
Road Safety Studies are large-scale planning efforts evaluating safety, mobility, and accessibility across corridors, neighborhoods, or downtowns. NVCOG combines heavy data analysis, field work, and community input to identify major transportation challenges. This process delivers prioritized recommendations to help local municipalities build safer, more connected, and more livable communities.
- Primary Focus: Long-term, network-wide transportation trends, systemic corridor safety, and multimodal mobility.
- Key Outcome: A comprehensive, prioritized action plan featuring large-scale engineering concepts, implementation strategies, and funding pathways.
- Timeline: Typically takes 12 to 16 months to complete.
Road Safety Studies are comprehensive planning efforts that examine transportation safety, mobility, and accessibility at a larger scale than a Road Safety Audit (RSA). While RSAs focus on identifying safety concerns at specific locations, Road Safety Studies evaluate entire corridors, neighborhoods, downtown districts, or transportation networks to identify long-term improvement opportunities.
These studies typically take 12–16 months to complete and involve extensive data collection, field observations, public engagement, and technical analysis. A Project Advisory Committee (PAC) and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) are often established to help guide the study, provide local knowledge, and review recommendations throughout the process.
Common study elements include existing conditions analyses, crash and traffic data review, multimodal assessments, public outreach, visioning exercises, concept development, and implementation planning. The final product is a set of prioritized recommendations and strategies that help municipalities improve safety, accessibility, connectivity, and quality of life while supporting broader community goals such as economic development, placemaking, and downtown revitalization.
Learn more about the corresponding Road Safety Studies by clicking on the links below:
- Baldwin Street Road Safety Study - Waterbury
- Downtown Shelton Road Safety Study (Coming Soon)
- Downtown Ansonia Road Safety Study (Coming Soon)
Prior to the development of NVCOG's Road Safety Studies program, several corridor studies were completed in the region in partnership with outside consultants and agencies:
Staff Contact
Kate Pipa
Supervising Transportation Planner
kpipa@nvcogct.gov