Autauga County Seeks Resident Input on Draft Road Safety Action Plan

Catrina Conard was trying to cross State Highway 14 near the 141-mile marker on a Saturday evening in late February when a pickup truck struck her, leaving the Prattville resident critically injured, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Less than a month later, county officials opened public comment on a draft roadway safety plan aimed at breaking exactly that kind of pattern.

From 2019 through 2023, 6,892 crashes occurred on public roadways across Autauga County, killing 54 people and leaving 201 others with suspected serious injuries. Those numbers drive the county's Draft Safety Action Plan, now open for public review with a comment deadline of April 27, 2026. County staff developed the plan with the SS4A Safety Task Force and consulting firm Sain Associates under the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All framework, a federal initiative Autauga County joined alongside Elmore, Chambers, and Perry Counties after receiving a grant in 2023.

The plan targets county-maintained road corridors specifically, outlining countermeasures from short-term to capital-scale. Proposed improvements include signage upgrades, corrected intersection geometry, shoulder treatments, and drainage work. The longer-range projects are structured to compete for federal and state grants once the plan is finalized and formally adopted.

But crash data alone cannot surface every problem. Planners emphasize that raw collision records miss the pedestrian crossing with no curb cut near a school zone, the rural stretch where farm equipment and evening commuters share the same narrow lane, the intersection that locals know to avoid at rush hour but that has never generated a police report. Those ground-level details are what the public comment period is designed to capture.

To give county engineers something actionable, submit comments that are precise: name the specific county road, describe what time of day the hazard peaks, explain the crash or near-miss pattern observed, and propose a physical fix, whether a crosswalk, a turn lane, better lighting, or a speed reduction. Corridor-specific observations are far easier to prioritize and fund than general concerns tied to a neighborhood or area.

Comments filed during the review window become part of the formal record shaping final project priorities and will be cited in future grant applications as evidence of community support for specific improvements.

The public comment period closes April 27. The Draft Safety Action Plan and submission options are posted on Autauga County's website.