NEW PORT RICHEY – The number and rate of deaths and serious injuries on Pasco County roads are trending downward despite the area’s rapid growth.
The Pasco County Metropolitan Transportation Organization was one of just six MPOs in the state to report a reduction in the number and rate of deaths and serious injuries from 2019 to 2023, according to Andrew Larter, a senior transportation planner for Urban SDK.
Larter presented safety data to the Pasco MPO on Feb. 13 so that leaders could set their annual targets.
Federal law requires states to annually set targets for safety performance measures. MPOs have to follow suit within 180 days.
The Florida Department of Transportation set a target this year of zero for all performance measures. This includes fatalities and serious injuries.
“Obviously, this is an aspirational goal,” Larter told the Pasco MPO. “It’s one that we all aspire to with the Vision Zero principle of roadway safety; however, Pasco MPO supports the statewide target and nevertheless also wishes to establish its own targets to track the safety performance of the transportation system in Pasco County in a more easily understandable way and one that establishes more meaningful and achievable targets than a blanket target of zero.”
Pasco MPO tracks five safety performance measures: the number and rate of fatalities, the number and rate of serious injuries, and non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries.
These measures are tracked using five-year rolling averages. Despite reductions in every performance measure, the Pasco MPO did not meet targets set in 2024.
That’s because the MPO sets a goal to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 10% of the current five-year rolling average.
“This is a methodology that allows the MPO to adopt clear and achievable targets using available and empirical data,” Larter said.
Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano questioned if that was the best approach. He thought it would be more realistic to set goals based on year-to-year data instead of a five-year rolling average.
“I don’t know why you would set yourself up for failure with that,” he said.
He wanted to see how the other 26 MPOs in Florida measure their goals.
“I also think it’s going to be very interesting to see the numbers because our county is growing at such a rapid rate compared to other parts of the state,” Pasco County Commissioner Lisa Yeager said.
Larter shared several ways that the MPO is addressing safety, including:
- Creating a safety action plan after receiving a $320,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2023.
- Supporting the Federal Highway Administration’s Safe System approach to highway design.
- Incorporating safety into transportation planning as well as its methodology for project prioritization.
