This primer presents an introduction to the topic of addressing safety as part of the environment analysis process, as directed by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). It presents practitioners with basic concepts for including meaningful, quantitative analysis of project safety issues and for taking advantage of the latest tools, research, and techniques for improving road safety within a project scope. The primer highlights the opportunity and benefits of linking safety planning to the environmental analysis at every stage of the NEPA process. The primer contains the following sections: • Considering Safety Prior to the NEPA process; • NEPA Overview and Levels of Documentation; • Public and Stakeholder Outreach; • Purpose and Need Statements; • Alternatives Analysis; • Defining the Affected Environment; and • Analysis of Environmental Impacts and Mitigation. Appendix A contains related resources, including links to on-line courses, tools, and research documents covering topics such as the basics of the NEPA process, road safety analysis, and safety countermeasure selection. Appendix B contains case studies illustrating best practices in incorporating safety into the NEPA process. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting