Road Safety Strategic Plan

Niagara Region's Road Safety Plan serves as the roadmap to reduce and eventually eliminate injuries and fatalities on Regional roads.

It aligns with the Vision Zero initiative, a global framework adopted by cities and regions to improve road safety.

The purpose of the plan is to:

Analyze where and why serious collisions are happening on the Regional road network today
Identify the engineering, enforcement and education tools to combat these trends
Establish a clear framework for prioritizing available resources and actions to reduce collisions
Outline the methods for tracking and monitoring progress

Common factors in collisions

More than half of all serious collisions in Niagara are linked to one of two main factors:

Intersections - Includes locations with traffic signals, stop signs, as well as uncontrolled intersections. Most serious collisions at intersections are related to turning movements and angle collisions, with rear-end collisions being the second most common.
Aggressive and distracted driving - Includes behaviours such as failing to properly yield the right-of-way, excessive speeding and tailgating

Other factors that contribute to the most common causes of collisions are vulnerable road users, young drivers, rural roads, commercial vehicles and impaired driving.

Reports and documents

Statistics

On Niagara Regional roads, there is:

An injury collision every 23 hours
A fatal collision every 44 days
A pedestrian fatal or injury collision
every 11 days
A cyclist fatal or injury collision
every 17 days

Action Plan

The action plan identifies high-collision locations and recommends actions to reduce collisions.

Action 1: Incorporate road safety in capital projects
Planned road reconstruction projects are prioritized as they provide the best opportunities for meaningful safety improvements. Many of these projects are already located in Niagara's highest-collision areas.

Road safety audits will be conducted for major road reconstruction projects to incorporate safety best practices in project design. The audits are formal, independent peer reviews aimed at identifying recommended safety improvements.

The benefit of a safety audit is to identify potential safety hazards and opportunities for improvement before they result in future collisions.

2025 Safety audits

The following projects are scheduled to have a road safety audit during project development:
- Lundy's Lane (Regional Road 20) - Starting at Montrose Road and ending at Highland Avenue
- Ontario Street (Regional Road 42) - Starting at Linwell Road and ending at Welland Avenue
- Niagara Street (Regional Road 48) - Starting at Carlton Street and ending at Scott Street
- Louth Street (Regional Road 72) - Starting at St. Paul Avenue and ending at Crestcombe Road
- King Street (Regional Road 81) - Starting at Nineteenth Street and ending at Twenty-Third Street
- Main Street (Regional Road 81) - Starting at West Niagara Secondary School and ending at Park Road North
Safety audits for 2026 will be determined based on project progress and timelines for completion of design work.
Action 2: Directly target high-collision areas
From data analysis that has been completed, there are locations in Niagara known to be priority locations for traffic collisions. These locations will be evaluated and addressed in a formalized and systematic manner.

Five in-service road safety reviews will be completed annually, targeting these high priority locations.

An in-service road safety review is an assessment of an existing road to identify safety concerns and recommend actions to reduce collisions and improve road user safety. Unlike a safety audit, which are conducted on planned or newly constructed roads, a safety review examines roads that are already in use.

Implementation of recommendations from safety reviews will take place the following year, subject to budget approvals. 2026 planned safety reviews are tentative and subject to change as annual collision data is reviewed.

2024 / In-progress safety reviews (2025 implementation)
- Lundy's Lane (Regional Road 20) - Starting at Kalar Road and ending at Montrose Road
- Welland Avenue (Regional Road 77) - Lake Street / James Street Intersection
- Carlton Street (Regional Road 83) - Starting at Ontario Street and ending at Lake Street
2025 Safety reviews (2026 implementation)
- Lundy's Lane (Regional Road 20) - Starting at Stanley Avenue and ending at Highland Avenue
- Highway 20 (Regional Road 20) - Starting at Highway 58 and ending at Kottmeier Road
- Woodlawn Road (Regional Road 41) - Starting at Niagara Street and ending at South Pelham Road
- Glendale Avenue (Regional Road 89) - Starting at Highway 406 (west ramps) and ending at Glenridge Road
- Montrose Road (Regional Road 98) - Starting at McLeod Road and ending at the Hydro Corridor
2026 Safety reviews (2027 implementation)
- Lundy's Lane (Regional Road 20) - Starting at Kalar Road and ending at Thorold Townline Road
- Highway 20 (Regional Road 20) - Starting at Haist Street and ending at Merrittville Highway
- Niagara Street (Regional Road 48) - Starting at Vine Street and ending at Carlton Street
- Thorold Stone Road (Regional Road 57) - Montrose Road Intersection
- Glendale Avenue (Regional Road 89) - Starting at Homer Road and ending at Taylor Road
An additional safety review of Beaverdams Road (Regional Road 67) - Highway 406 ramps to Ormond Street has been previously planned and will also commence in 2025.

Action 3: Network-wide countermeasure programs

Network-wide initiatives seek to implement countermeasures across the Regional road network. Each countermeasure initiative will be tied to quantitative criteria to determine the best locations for review or implementation.

Funding is allocated to each emphasis area based on its proportional share of total collisions.

New or expanded initiatives

In addition to the following new or expanded programs, several existing countermeasure programs will continue throughout 2025. Examples include the ladder crosswalk, pedestrian crossover and the red-light camera programs.

Network-Wide Countermeasure Program
Emphasis area	Network-wide countermeasures in 2025
Intersections	Leading pedestrian intervals - determine criteria and expand to additional locations across the region building on 2024 pilot installation at Welland Avenue (Regional Road 77) / Court Street Sightline Review Study - initiate a consulting assignment to inventory and address sightline obstructions at Regional intersections
Aggressive and distracted driving	Speed display boards - expand the existing program to install approximately 25 additional locations based on speed and collision data Automated speed enforcement - expand from four to eight camera programs as previously approved by Council Traffic calming - develop a traffic calming guideline focused on measures appropriate for Regional / arterial roads; expand the existing traffic calming bollard program to approximately 25 additional locations based on speed data Education campaign - focused on dangers of distracted driving and use of handheld devices
Vulnerable road users	Community Safety Zones - added two new Community Safety Zones on Thorold Stone Road (Regional Road 57) and Pelham Road (Regional Road 69) Updated speed limit policy and signs in school zones - adopt and begin implementation of an updated speed limit policy and new signs in school zones Active Transportation Strategy - develop an active transportation strategy as part of the Transportation Master Plan Education campaigns - focused on use of roundabouts, pedestrian crossovers and protection of motorcyclists
Young drivers	Road safety curriculum - leverage a successful federal funding application to work with academic and local partners to develop aroad safety program for high-school aged drivers Young driver education campaign - focused on addressing overrepresentation of young drivers in collision statistics
Rural roads	Curve warning review - complete implementation program to ensure required signage is present at all curves on Regional roads Education campaign - focused on safe driving habits near farm vehicles
Commercial vehicles	Truck regulation and by-pass enforcement - working with theTown of Lincoln, Ministry of Transportation, and other partners, join the existing enforcement program focused on illegal truck re-routing in west Niagara Education campaign - focused on safe driving habits near and by commercial vehicles
Impaired driving	Traffic data - share additional traffic collision information with Niagara Regional Police Service to support their ongoing R.I.D.E. program