Anchorage Assembly to weigh $2.5 million in state grants for police traffic enforcement

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance has asked the Anchorage Assembly to accept about $2.5 million in Alaska Department of Transportation highway-safety grants for Anchorage Police Department traffic enforcement. The Assembly takes up the four resolutions Wednesday, Nov. 4. The money would pay officers to target impaired drivers, speeders, distracted drivers and street racers through Sept. 30, 2027.

The largest piece funds an Impaired Driving Enforcement Unit. That resolution would appropriate up to $1,911,850 in state money, plus $67,359 moved from the police operating budget. It covers officer salaries, overtime, benefits, vehicle maintenance, travel, training and four patrol vehicles. The vehicles account for $340,000.

A speed enforcement grant of $345,660 would focus on areas with heavy traffic, many speeding complaints and high collision rates. A distracted driving grant of $110,880 would pay for enforcement details at roads and intersections the Alaska Highway Safety Office flagged for collisions involving pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. A street racing grant of $178,500 would target speeding and aggressive driving during illegal races. Each grant also carries a small transfer from police operating funds.

APD must also match the grants with staff time paid from its own budget rather than cash, more than $244,000 in all. The impaired driving match is $116,532, the speed match $75,218, the racing match $35,351 and the distracted driving match $17,085. Overtime is the largest line in both the speed grant, at $178,307, and the racing grant, at $104,151.

Police Chief Sean Case signed off on the requests, and LaFrance submitted them with a recommendation to approve. The memos say increased enforcement will make Anchorage roads safer.

The speed grant follows an earlier one. The state's highway safety report for the 2025 federal fiscal year shows APD ran a municipal-wide speed enforcement project whose patrols included the Glenn Highway and Minnesota Drive. It had a $227,000 budget and made 3,157 traffic stops and issued 590 speeding citations that year.

A state health bulletin, Pedestrian Fatalities in Anchorage, 2016–2025, counted 92 pedestrian deaths in Anchorage over that decade. The highest death rate came in 2025, with 15 deaths.

The grant year began Oct. 1. The state will reimburse the city monthly, but only after it issues a notice to proceed, its formal go-ahead.