Engineering consulting firm ProHNS released a draft safety action plan for the Haines Borough on Monday after repeated open houses and meetings in the Chilkat Valley. The plan is part of a national program called Safe Streets for All, and is a local collaboration between the Chilkoot Indian Association and the Haines Borough. The plan was created by using input from a safety survey compiled from Nov. 4 to Dec. 31, 2025. The project was awarded a grant from the Department of Transportation to develop a safety plan using survey input from Haines community members as well as crash, EMS dispatch and wildlife-vehicle interaction data.
The draft action plan is open for public comment until Aug. 31. Comments or questions can be sent to [email protected] or submitted to the Haines Borough Planning Commission’s August or September meetings.
ProHNS identified 10 priority projects, including four site-specific projects, three general area projects and three system-wide projects. The projects were ranked, with the top project being intersection improvements to Third Avenue and Main Street. The list of priority projects can be found on page 65 of the draft plan.
After the comment period, the action plan will be submitted to the Haines Borough Assembly, planning commission, Chilkoot Indian Association and Chilkat Indian Village tribal councils to review and implement.
According to the draft plan, it is up to the Haines Borough in partnership with the Chilkoot Indian Association, Chilkat Indian Village and other organizations to implement the plan.
The action plan highlighted three main transportation safety concerns people mentioned late last year. The first is “inadequate maintenance of roads, sidewalks and multi-use pathways”; the second, “lack of sight line visibility (inadequate sight distance to view oncoming traffic)”; and lastly, “limited or lack of separated places to walk or bike (away from vehicles).”
Survey results in the plan also showed what respondents identified as priorities for improving transportation safety, with “better winter maintenance of roads and sidewalks” as the top area needing improvement. Enhancing sight-line visibility at intersections was ranked second and adding and maintaining sidewalks was ranked third priority.
Lizzy Hahn is a reporter and photographer from Nome. She has worked in newsrooms across Alaska including the Anchorage Daily News, Nome Nugget and UAF Sun Star.
More by Lizzy Hahn
Safe Streets Action Plan up for public comment
Engineering consulting firm ProHNS released a draft safety action plan for the Haines Borough on Monday after repeated open houses and meetings in the Chilkat Valley. The plan is part of a national program called Safe Streets for All, and is a local collaboration between the Chilkoot Indian Association and the Haines Borough. The plan was created by using input from a safety survey compiled from Nov. 4 to Dec. 31, 2025. The project was awarded a grant from the Department of Transportation to develop a safety plan using survey input from Haines community members as well as crash, EMS dispatch and wildlife-vehicle interaction data.
The draft action plan is open for public comment until Aug. 31. Comments or questions can be sent to [email protected] or submitted to the Haines Borough Planning Commission’s August or September meetings.
ProHNS identified 10 priority projects, including four site-specific projects, three general area projects and three system-wide projects. The projects were ranked, with the top project being intersection improvements to Third Avenue and Main Street. The list of priority projects can be found on page 65 of the draft plan.
After the comment period, the action plan will be submitted to the Haines Borough Assembly, planning commission, Chilkoot Indian Association and Chilkat Indian Village tribal councils to review and implement.
According to the draft plan, it is up to the Haines Borough in partnership with the Chilkoot Indian Association, Chilkat Indian Village and other organizations to implement the plan.
The action plan highlighted three main transportation safety concerns people mentioned late last year. The first is “inadequate maintenance of roads, sidewalks and multi-use pathways”; the second, “lack of sight line visibility (inadequate sight distance to view oncoming traffic)”; and lastly, “limited or lack of separated places to walk or bike (away from vehicles).”
Survey results in the plan also showed what respondents identified as priorities for improving transportation safety, with “better winter maintenance of roads and sidewalks” as the top area needing improvement. Enhancing sight-line visibility at intersections was ranked second and adding and maintaining sidewalks was ranked third priority.
Lizzy Hahn
Lizzy Hahn is a reporter and photographer from Nome. She has worked in newsrooms across Alaska including the Anchorage Daily News, Nome Nugget and UAF Sun Star. More by Lizzy Hahn