Sitka's next step in a multi-year federal road safety push — RFQ goes out as SS4A program nears its authorized end

The City and Borough of Sitka is seeking qualifications from firms to support its Safe Streets and Roads for All work, with responses due July 8. The procurement is the next step in a multi-year federally-funded effort that began with a $550,000 SS4A planning grant USDOT awarded to Sitka in early 2023.

That planning grant — along with parallel awards to Ketchikan and Juneau in the same round — was intended to produce a comprehensive safety strategy that would position the city to apply for the larger SS4A Implementation Grant funding that supports actual roadway infrastructure projects. The new RFQ appears to support that next phase of work.

The timing matters. Congress authorized the Safe Streets and Roads for All program through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act with $5 billion appropriated over five years, FY2022 through FY2026. The program's current authorization runs through the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30, putting pressure on communities like Sitka to move from planning to implementation before the program's future becomes uncertain.

The program supports infrastructure, behavioral, and operational initiatives for all road users. Seema Garrett, a transportation planner who has worked on SS4A applications, said the program addresses needs in communities where "folks just walk to school or to work, and there's a lot of need for safety improvements."