Section 6: Project Development Process

Introduction

Traffic safety projects are initiated as a result of several types of “needs,” including:
  • Statewide and local problem identification.
  • State agency initiative.
  • Community initiative.
  • Key events.
Proposals are sought annually from all interested parties for projects to be included in the following year’s Highway Safety Plan (HSP). TRF-BTS develops the Request for Proposals (RFP) and associated documents each fiscal year based on the priority traffic safety performance goals detailed in the HSP.

Project Development Process

The project development process consists of the following steps:
  1. Problem identification (discussed in Section 3 of this chapter).
  2. Community needs assessment (discussed in Section 3 of this chapter).
  3. Countermeasure selection and strategy (discussed under the following subheading).
  4. Evaluation planning (discussed in Chapter 6, Sections 6 and 7).
  5. Proposal development (discussed in Chapter 3).
  6. Negotiation (discussed in Chapter 4, Section 2).
  7. Consensus (agreement between the proposing agency and TxDOT on grant agreement content).
  8. Approval (discussed in Chapter 4, Sections 4 and 5).
  9. Implementation or project activation (discussed under “Implementation or Project Activation” later in this section).

Countermeasure Selection

In selecting countermeasures, both the target audience and the target area must be clearly identified (see the following examples).
Example Target Audiences and Target Areas
Target Audiences:
Target Areas:
Impaired drivers
northeast quadrant of city
Speeding motorists
a specific segment of the roadway during nighttime, on weekends, or during daylight hours
Unbuckled vehicle occupants.
jurisdiction-wide.
Countermeasures should be such that a “reasonable person” would believe they would produce effective results and should relate directly to the problem identification and community assessment addressed in the problem statement.

Implementation or Project Activation

Project implementation or activation includes the following:
  • Attending the grant delivery meeting (see Chapter 4, Section 6).
  • Organizing the workforce.
  • Scheduling activities and work hours.
  • Taking care of incidental paperwork and setting up records files.
  • Getting to know accounting personnel who will be administering the grant-related finances.
  • Becoming familiar with reporting requirements and due dates.

Grant Agreement Content

The key elements of a grant agreement are:
  • Problem identification, which includes:
    • Crash data analysis.
    • Program and community needs assessment.
    • Problem statement.
  • Problem solution.
  • Project objectives, which include:
    • Objectives performance measures.
    • Performance targets.
    • Tasks and activities.
    • Milestones and/or action plan for general grants.
  • Budget.
  • Reporting requirements.
  • Boilerplate (general and special terms and conditions).

Summary

Proposed projects must support the goals and strategies established for the program areas in the HSP. Grant agreements implement the HSP. Chapter 3 of this manual details the specifics of developing grant agreement proposals specifically for the Texas Behavioral Traffic Safety Program.