SS4A FY26: What Changed & What Tools Can Support Your Application

The clock is ticking on this significant federal safety funding opportunity – nearly $1 billion is on the table to directly help local, regional and tribal communities eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries. The Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program is live now with a  deadline of May 26, 2026 at 5pm ET.

In an April 15th webinar, we highlighted what's new in this SS4A cycle, and what it means for Vision Zero planning, demonstration projects, and implementation. See key takeaways below. For a full overview of what’s new this round and strategies to strengthen your application, don't miss our deep-dive: What's New in the SS4A Grant Program 2026 and our additional SS4A resource slides.

Watch a 1-hour webinar recording and take a look at Vision Zero Network & Cumulant slides.

• Know what's viewed less favorably in this SS4A grant cycle. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has signaled a "less favorable considerations" for applications that include the following: infrastructure reducing level of service for motor vehicles; automated traffic enforcement outside of work zones, school zones, or school buses; and new dedicated bike lanes that reduce vehicular capacity. But safety and access do not have to be in conflict; they can be complementary. For instance, adding center turn lanes can reduce conflict points and improve emergency vehicle access by making it easier for drivers to pull over. Be clear and precise about the safety benefits of a problem you're addressing and how design changes support overall roadway function for all types of users. Thoughtful, outcomes-focused narratives can go a long way in building strong case within this guidance.
• Emergency response is being promoted. USDOT is placing increased emphasis on what it defines as "public safety infrastructure" to include investments in EMS coordination, trauma response systems, 911 systems, digital alert tools, and other post-crash care strategies. Proposals demonstrating collaboration with first responders, fire services, law enforcement, or trauma system partners and/or ways to improve post-crash survivability are likely to be more competitive. Read more ideas here.
• Bundling multiple ideas can strengthen an application. Strong proposals should combine multiple planning and demonstration activities – addressing different elements of a Safe System approach: safe speeds, safe roads, safe vehicles, safe road users, and post-crash care. For instance, communities can apply for funding to do demonstration traffic calming activities that target safe speeds and safe roads, use Cumulant’s before-and-after evaluation solution to assess activities' impacts, and also include pilots of technologies, such as Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) in fleet vehicles to address safe vehicles and safe speeds.

At the same time, safe road users strategies can be explored via safety incentives and telematics tools (read more). These insights can help identify emerging risk hotspots, complement crash data, and allow communities to target, test, and scale interventions more effectively.

• Emphasize safety benefits to kids, families and the local economy. The SS4A grants emphasize safety for children and families, which we all support. So, even if your proposal is not specifically a youth/school-oriented project, consider its proximity or relation to schools, parks, playgrounds, or neighborhoods with high rates of children and families. And make potential youth/family connections explicit in your applications. Cumulant’s tools offer school zone safety and vulnerable road user analysis which can help measure which interventions have driven the largest improvements over time in a hyper-local context, providing the kind of before-and-after evidence that strengthens your case. The SS4A program also emphasizes improved access to jobs and essential services, and more reliable movement of people and goods – so think about how to emphasize these connections too, which may not always be obvious but do exist. And, whenever possible, quantify the broader social and financial benefits of reducing crashes, injuries and traffic deaths; emergency response delays; and public costs related to healthcare and emergency services.

How Cumulant Can Support Your Road Safety Work

We also heard from our partners at Cumulant, whose AI-powered street safety platform helps communities build the kind of data foundation that strengthens SS4A applications — and supports planning, demonstration projects, and longer-term implementation and evaluation. Designed to be free for cities with flexible, privacy-conscious frameworks, Cumulant transforms sensor data into actionable safety intelligence. Here's how it can support your work:

• See what crash data misses. Most traffic safety measurement relies on intersection cameras, summary counts, and point-in-time snapshots — which means mid-block crossings, loading zone conflicts, and near-misses often go undetected. Cumulant measures continuous behavior across the full corridor, capturing how people and vehicles actually occupy and interact within street space. This turns raw observations into actionable safety intelligence: lane-level trajectories, speeds, proximity events, and multimodal interactions — all with engineering-grade accuracy that planners can defend.

• Before and after safety evaluations for demonstration projects. For common treatments like bike lanes, daylighting, and traffic calming, communities often struggle to document before-and-after impact. Cumulant's platform captures site-specific, on-the-ground road observation data – including occupancy patterns, near-miss events, and other leading indicators –  that complements traditional crash data and helps tell a more complete story about safety outcomes. In an era of intense scrutiny on public spending, this more rigorous evaluation helps demonstrate exactly what safety dollars achieved, cut what isn't working, and scale what is. Cumulant helps this happen faster, with less guesswork, and with more local nuance.

• Proactively identify risk before crashes happen. Cumulant can help identify high-risk locations that haven't yet shown up in crash records but share characteristics associated with elevated risk. For example, they can help identify areas where there are characteristics associated with elevated risks, such as high vehicle speeds and volumes, missing safety infrastructure, and a mix of people walking, biking and driving. This kind of forward-looking, high-risk analysis can strengthen both the case for new funding and measure the long-term impacts of safety work.

Cumulant is offering a complimentary pilot program for its first two communities, including for SS4A applications or existing projects. If your community is interested in potential hands-on support, reach out to learn more by contacting Leo@cumulant.ai. Read more about how this opportunity can support ongoing safety work. 

And reminders to access our helpful tips to develop strong SS4A applications. Read our recent blog and check out our SS4A resource slides for additional project ideas and inspiration that your community can make the most of.