Thought Leadership

Why Early Coordination Matters for SS4A

May 11, 2026

By Amber Adams, Grants & Funding Program Manager; Saeed Sobhi, Director of Traffic Engineering; and Ryan Earp, Director of Public Engagement, WSB

One of the clearest signals in the FY26 SS4A program is the increased emphasis on coordination. Improving roadway safety at scale requires more than funding awareness or technical design—it requires alignment across leadership, planning, engineering, public engagement, and long‑term implementation.

Alignment Across Disciplines Is Now an Evaluation Factor

From our combined perspectives, SS4A succeeds when no single discipline operates in isolation.

• Grants and funding teams help ensure applications are grounded in defensible data, realistic scopes, and long‑term delivery considerations.
• Planning and engineering teams identify systemic risk, apply the Safe System Approach, and prioritize strategies that balance urgency, equity, and feasibility.
• Public engagement teams ensure local voices inform priorities, lived experience strengthens technical analysis, and trust is built early—especially in underserved communities.

These roles are distinct, but deeply interdependent. When one is underdeveloped, even well‑funded SS4A efforts can struggle.

Why Timing Matters More Than Ever

The FY26 deadline arrives quickly, but strong preparation takes time. Early coordination allows communities to:

• Validate multi‑year crash and roadway data
• Inventory existing plans and prior safety work
• Align leadership direction with technical assumptions
• Think realistically about implementation and reporting

Communities that start these conversations early often find they are better prepared, more aligned, and more strategic—regardless of whether they apply in the current cycle.

A Help‑First Starting Point

SS4A is flexible, but not one‑size‑fits‑all. Some communities are ready for implementation. Others are still building foundational plans. The most productive starting point is rarely a scope or proposal—it is a cross‑disciplinary conversation about priorities, data, capacity, and long‑term outcomes.

In FY26 and beyond, that preparation may matter more than any single application.

Learn more: FY26 SS4A: What Communities Need to Know – WSB

FY26 SS4A: What Communities Need to Know

May 11, 2026

By Amber Adams, Grants & Funding Program Manager, WSB

The FY26 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Notice of Funding Opportunity signals a clear shift in how USDOT is evaluating applications. As the program enters its fifth year, communities are no longer assessed solely on interest or intent, but on readiness to deliver safety outcomes over time.

How SS4A Has Changed

Early SS4A cycles focused heavily on plan development. In FY26, expectations are higher. Applicants are increasingly asked not just what they want to do, but how they will implement, sustain, and report on safety investments.

From a grants and funding perspective, the most competitive applications consistently demonstrate:

• A clearly defined safety problem supported by defensible data
• Leadership commitment beyond the application cycle
• Realistic scopes aligned with staff and delivery capacity
• Understanding of post‑award compliance and long‑term stewardship

The Role of the Safety Action Plan Today

Comprehensive Safety Action Plans are no longer treated as static deliverables. USDOT is looking for plans that function as decision‑making frameworks.

Strong plans:

• Explain why crashes occur, not just where
• Show how strategies were evaluated and prioritized
• Demonstrate readiness to move from planning to implementation
• Align safety investments with broader transportation and community goals

Communities that treat their Safety Action Plan as a living document are better positioned for both current and future SS4A funding.

Early Preparation Still Pays Off

Competitive SS4A preparation cannot be rushed. Communities that begin early—by validating data, coordinating internally, and aligning leadership expectations—often benefit even if they do not apply in a given cycle.

In FY26 and beyond, readiness and coordination increasingly matter as much as the application itself.

Learn more: Why Early Coordination Matters for SS4A – WSB

Nature-Based Solutions: Protecting Coastal and Inland Ecosystems

April 30, 2026

By Raul Osorio, Coastal Resiliency Program Manager, WSB 

Celebrated worldwide, Earth Day and the month of April encourage us to reflect on our role in protecting the natural world. As threats from natural hazards, habitat loss, and pollution grow, nature-based solutions emerge as innovative approaches that work in tandem with conventional strategies in favor of the environment. These approaches connect the restorative and protective abilities of ecosystems, offering sustainable solutions to challenges faced by both coastal and inland systems.

Coastal Ecosystems: The Front Lines of Climate Action

Coastal areas, including mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and coral reefs, play an important role in safeguarding the boundary between land and sea. These ecosystems are vital for mitigating the effects of rising sea levels, storm surges, and coastal erosion. For example, mangroves act as natural barriers, absorbing wave energy and reducing the impact of storms on coastal communities. Their natural structure also provides habitat for fish and other marine life, supporting biodiversity and local fisheries.

Nature-based solutions in coastal regions include restoring dunes, protecting mangrove forests, implementing living shorelines, and rehabilitating coral reefs. Such efforts not only preserve habitats and wildlife, but also enhance tourism, fisheries, and livelihoods. Combining natural infrastructure with grey infrastructure, such as living shorelines alongside concrete sea walls, helps improve resilience against climate extremes while preserving the landscape and sustainability of coastal environments.

Inland Ecosystems

Inland ecosystems encompass a variety of systems such as forests, wetlands, rivers, grasslands, and agricultural lands. These landscapes offer a variety of benefits to people and serve as habitats for many species, playing a vital role in ecological health. Forests help by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, which is essential for life. Wetlands act as natural barriers, absorbing excess rainwater and reducing the risk of flooding. Grasslands support pollinators and help keep soils stable, preventing erosion and supporting soil fertility.

Reforestation projects, wetland restoration, and regenerative agriculture represent nature-based solutions implemented within inland regions. These approaches protect, restore, and manage natural ecosystems to address a range of environmental hazards and challenges, contributing to human well-being, biodiversity, improved water quality, and enabling these systems to adapt to future climate risks. By incorporating these practices, communities enhance resilience, promote biodiversity, and maintain food security.

Collaboration and Innovation for a Sustainable Future

Effective nature-based solutions implementation requires collaborative efforts among governments, scientists, private sector, local communities, landowners, and real state professionals. Identifying restoration goals, prioritizing areas, conducting long-term monitoring, and openly sharing information, will support the successful implementation of these strategies to address local needs and encourage broad support.

Innovative policy frameworks and cross-sectors partnerships can help leverage resources and expertise to advance scalable projects that protect both people and the environment. Education and outreach further strengthen these efforts by encouraging individuals to get involved whether by restoring a riverbank, planting native trees or supporting sustainable production.

Earth Month reminds us of our connection to the natural world. By embracing nature-based solutions within our ecosystems, we protect the future of our planet. Let us celebrate Earth Month as an opportunity to reflect and take action to care for, restore, and support the landscapes that sustain us and future generations.

From Vision to Action: How WSB Delivers Climate Plans That Work

April 17, 2026

By Mattie Anders, Sustainability Program Manager, WSB

As communities across the country work to address climate change, the challenge is no longer setting ambitious goals—it’s turning those goals into practical, actionable plans. Effective climate planning starts with a clear, data‑driven understanding of a community’s emissions, risks, and priorities—and that’s exactly how WSB approaches every project. Drawing from industry best practices, we begin by establishing a strong foundation: developing greenhouse gas inventories, identifying climate vulnerabilities, and aligning goals with state and regional targets. This analytical groundwork ensures that climate strategies are rooted in real conditions, not assumptions, and sets communities up to make informed, high-impact decisions. This approach has been successfully applied in local communities like Mahtomedi, St. Anthony Village, and Circle Pines, where WSB has supported the development of tailored, actionable climate and sustainability plans.

But data alone doesn’t create meaningful change – people do. WSB places a strong emphasis on intentional, right-sized engagement that brings residents, businesses, and stakeholders into the process in a way that is accessible and actionable. Transparent, inclusive engagement improves outcomes and builds long-term support for implementation, and we tailor our approach to meet each community where they are. Whether through targeted surveys, stakeholder workshops, or focused conversations, we ensure that local knowledge and priorities directly shape the plan, without overburdening staff or budgets.

Finally, WSB’s climate plans are designed to move beyond vision into implementation. We integrate climate strategies into existing city processes, like capital improvement planning, policy updates, and infrastructure investments, so sustainability becomes part of everyday decision-making, not a standalone effort. By pairing technical expertise with practical, community-focused solutions, we deliver plans that are not only ambitious, but achievable, helping communities take meaningful steps toward a more resilient, low-carbon future this Earth Day and beyond.

How Cities Are Measuring What Matters: Transportation Sustainability Assessments and the Future of Urban Infrastructure

April 17, 2026

By Katie Baum, Sustainability Program Planner, WSB 

For decades, cities measured transportation performance using a narrow set of indicators, including vehicle counts, travel times, and pavement conditions. But as urban areas grapple with changing climate conditions, equitable demands, aging infrastructure, and constrained budgets, a more sophisticated question has emerged: Is our transportation system actually working for people, the environment, and the economy all at once? Transportation Sustainability Assessments (TSAs) attempt to answer exactly that.

What Transportation Sustainability Assessments Measure and Why It Matters

At their core, Transportation Sustainability Assessments evaluate a transportation system across three interconnected dimensions: environmental performance, social equity, and economic viability. Rather than asking only how fast vehicles can move through a corridor, a TSA asks harder questions about who has access, what the system emits, who bears the burden of its impacts, and whether the investment is viable over the long term. A 2021 systematic review published in Transport Reviews examined 99 peer reviewed studies and identified nearly 2,400 unique sustainability indicators in use across the field, a figure that speaks both to the richness of the concept and to the challenge of standardizing it.

Common Methods Cities Use to Measure Transportation Sustainability

The most common assessment approaches fall into several broad categories, each offering distinct value to practitioners. Indicator and framework development is the most widely used method, characterizing nearly a third of published assessments, and produces structured tools that cities can apply to evaluate and report on their transportation systems over time. Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis is particularly valuable when a city needs to compare alternative investments or policies, using weighted sustainability criteria and stakeholder input to generate ranked, defensible priorities. Modeling and simulation tools allow cities to project the sustainability impacts of future decisions before committing capital, comparing outcomes such as the long-term emissions reduction of a transit investment against roadway expansion. The most advanced assessments identified in the literature were those that paired quantitative performance data with genuine community engagement, incorporating the perspectives of residents whose lived experience of the transportation system may differ significantly from what the data alone reveals.

How Transportation Sustainability Assessments Support Smarter, More Equitable Infrastructure Decisions

For smaller and mid-sized cities navigating complex transportation contexts, including industrial freight corridors, environmental justice communities, and limited staff capacity, the practical lesson from the literature is clear: start with a framework grounded in local policy goals, invest meaningfully in stakeholder engagement, and resist the temptation to default to easy-to-measure indicators at the expense of qualitative dimensions. When done well, a Transportation Sustainability Assessment establishes a measurable baseline that enables long term accountability, allowing cities to track progress against adopted sustainability goals and demonstrate outcomes to funders, policymakers, and the communities they serve. A TSA can transform transportation planning from a technical exercise into a genuine act of community investment, one that ensures infrastructure decisions reflect the specific conditions, values, and priorities of the people a city exists to serve.

Sources: Karjalainen, L.E. & Juhola, S. (2021). Urban transportation sustainability assessments: a systematic review of literature. Transport Reviews, 41(5), 659–684.

How Cities Can Reduce Environmental Impact Through Infrastructure Decisions

April 7, 2026

By Ben Fletcher, Design Manager, WSB 

Earth Month is often associated with big-picture sustainability goals, but for city and county staff, real environmental impact is driven by everyday infrastructure decisions. From how roads are designed to how projects are coordinated across departments, practical choices made during planning, design, and construction can significantly reduce environmental impact —while also saving time and money. 

One of the most effective ways communities can advance sustainability is by prioritizing on long-term asset performance rather than short-term fixes. Infrastructure that is designed with lifecycle planning in mind lasts longer, requires fewer repairs, and reduces the need for frequent reconstruction. This approach not only saves on materials and lowers greenhouse gas emissions associated with construction but also minimizes disruptions to residents and businesses. Over time, a lifecycle approach delivers stronger fiscal stewardship, improved service reliability, and more sustainable outcomes for the whole community. 

Data-driven planning also plays a critical role. The greatest impact occurs when sustainability is embedded directly into capital improvement planning rather than treated as a separate initiative. Using condition data, asset inventories, and readily available environmental datasets, communities can prioritize investments based on demonstrated need, not assumptions or the loudest complaint. This approach allows limited resources to be directed where they deliver the greatest impact to your community, extending the lifespan of roads, utilities, and facilities while reducing unnecessary construction and environmental disturbance. Integrating environmental considerations into routine planning processes enables more consistent, informed decision-making without adding complexity to already busy workloads. 

Another opportunity lies in project coordination. When Aligning roadway, utility, and facility improvements are aligned through data-informed capital planning, communities can avoid repeat excavation and construction impacts. Coordinated investments reduce disruptions to citizens, businesses, traffic, and neighborhoods, while also limiting impacts on natural resources. This integrated approach not only improves overall project efficiency, but also maximizes the value of public investments, ensuring that infrastructure upgrades are strategic, cost-effective, and aligned with long-term sustainability goals. 

Finally, education is the key to success. When both leadership and frontline staff understand how their day-to-day decisions influence long-term asset performance, costs, and environmental outcomes, sustainability becomes embedded in routine operations – not treated as an add-on. Building this shared awareness empowers teams to apply lifecycle thinking, use data effectively, and coordinate projects more strategically. The result is more consistent, informed decision-making that drives cost-effective investments, reduces environmental impact, and reinforces a culture of sustainability across an organization.  

Earth Month is a reminder that sustainability and resilience go hand in hand. By understanding and respecting natural systems, local governments can build infrastructure that lasts longer, performs better, and serves communities well into the future. WSB partners with cities and counties to plan, design, educate and deliver infrastructure that works with those natural systems to reduce risk and build long-term resilience. Our teams bring together geotechnical, environmental, stormwater, and resilience planning expertise to help communities make informed decisions early, before challenges become costly problems, protecting their infrastructure, their environment, and the people who rely on them. 

Resilient Communities Start with the Ground Beneath Them

April 7, 2026

By Shawn Poe, Director of Municipal Services, WSB

As communities recognize Earth Month, it’s a good time to reflect on how working with natural systems, rather than against them, can lead to more resilient, sustainable infrastructure. Understanding the ground beneath and around our roads, utilities, and public facilities is one of the most important steps in reducing risk and protecting the environment. 

Early insight into soil, groundwater, and site conditions helps communities make informed decisions before design and construction begin. Geotechnical and environmental evaluations identify challenges that could otherwise lead to premature failures, environmental damage, or costly change orders later in a project’s life. Addressing these conditions early supports both sustainability and fiscal responsibility. 

Stormwater management is another area where thoughtful planning has an outsized impact. Designing infrastructure that manages runoff effectively helps protect local waterways, reduce erosion, and comply with regulatory requirements. When stormwater systems are integrated into broader planning efforts, they contribute to healthier ecosystems and more resilient neighborhoods. 

Communities are also increasingly focused on reducing construction-related environmental impacts. Better site planning, informed material selection, and coordinated construction oversight can limit disturbance to surrounding areas and shorten construction timelines, benefiting residents, staff, and the environment alike. 

Finally, resilient infrastructure is essential as communities prepare for extreme weather and changing climate conditions as natural hazard events grow in frequency and intensity.  Cities and counties that use both thoughtful community engagement and hazard-specific data to understand their unique vulnerability and exposure are better prepared to protect critical assets while supporting public safety and environmental stewardship. 

At WSB, we help cities and counties reduce uncertainty by identifying risks early and addressing them before they affect project outcomes. Through integrated hazard mitigation planning, geotechnical, environmental, stormwater, and construction-phase support, we assist communities in navigating complex site conditions, regulatory requirements, and evolving climate challenges. Our teams focus on practical implementation, helping local governments move from planning to construction with fewer surprises, better coordination, and infrastructure that performs as intended for the long term. 

Earth Month 2026: Inspiration from Tribal Collaboration 

April 2, 2026

By Amy Fredregill, Sr. Director of Sustainability, WSB

As we kick off Earth Month 2026, I am reflecting on the collaboration between partners in the Tribal Nations of MN. We have had the opportunity to support idea-sharing on environmental issues between sovereign nations in dozens of ways since last year’s Earth Month celebration, and wanted to share some of my top takeaways. These observations have occurred because over the last year, we at WSB have served as technical assistance providers to MN tribes on behalf of the MN Pollution Control Agency on a multitude of environmental and energy-related efforts. This role has provided us the opportunity to connect with community leaders across disciplines, in different jurisdictions, and around the state.  

Each Tribal Nation advances their own vision of sovereignty for their community. In many instances, they also collaborate with other Tribal Nations across areas of expertise and lived experiences. These conversations have covered such varied topics as sustainable farming, local foods, renewable energy, land conservation, climate protection, water quality improvements, and beyond.  

By coming together, we reinforce and demonstrate an attitude of abundance, instead of scarcity. There are many environmental challenges, and by coming together to share ideas, lessons learned, best practices and resources, we can turn the challenges into opportunities for innovation, growth, community-building and vitality.  

A specific example of fruitful collaboration is demonstrated by the work of the Tribal Advisory Council on Energy, or TACE. This relatively new organization brings together MN Tribal Nations to advance energy sovereignty. TACE members share best practices on renewable energy, collaborate on local community projects, advise on stakeholder conversations with policymakers and utilities, and beyond. By adding capacity and expertise to common efforts, TACE supports its members to go farther, faster, together. 

This Earth Month, you will be hearing more stories from WSB leaders about energy planning, nature-based solutions, coastal resiliency, climate modelling integration into comprehensive planning, and beyond.  We learn by working across systems, communities, cultures and sectors. I am excited to see how these recently planted seeds will grow, and hope to do my part in cultivating these robust conversations. I’m putting a “green flag” in these efforts to circle back over time and observe the cycles of growth, adaptation, calibration, and learnings. 

BRIC Is Back: What City Staff Need to Know Now 

By Allison Whitsitt, Director, Emergency Management, WSB

March 26, 2026

FEMA has officially released the FY 2025 and FY 2026 Building Resilient Infrastructure in Communities (BRIC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), marking a major restart of the program and a significant shift in priorities, eligibility, and scoring. With $1 billion available nationwide, BRIC remains one of the most impactful federal funding opportunities for communities looking to reduce risk and invest in resilient infrastructure, but success will depend on readiness and alignment with the new rules. 

What’s Changed in the FY25–26 BRIC NOFO 

• Project cap reduced: Maximum federal share per National Competition project is now $20 million (down from $50 million) 

• Hazard Mitigation Plans (HMPs):  

• A FEMA-approved State or Tribal HMP is required by the application deadline and at the time of obligation 

• Plan development or updates are no longer eligible costs 

• HMP integration is encouraged, projects should clearly reference where needs appear in the plan 

• Phased projects are no longer eligible 

• Construction readiness is heavily weighted:  

• Projects at 90%+ design earn 30 of 90 possible points in the National Competition 

• Advancing design prior to submission is critical 

Available Funding Snapshot 

• Total BRIC funding: $1,000,000,000 

• National Competition: $757,000,000 (cap of $20,000,000 per project) 

• State/Territory allocation: $112,000,000 

• Tribal set-aside: $50,000,000 

• Building code plus-ups:  

• $56,000,000 (State/Territory) 

• $25,000,000 (Tribal) 

• Pre–award application costs are eligible 

Key Dates to Know 

• Application opens: March 25, 2026 (3:00 p.m. ET) 

• FEMA deadline: July 23, 2026 (3:00 p.m. ET) 

• State deadlines: Typically 4–8 weeks earlier (varies by state) 

• Period of performance: 36 months (limited extensions) 

Eligible Projects & Cost Share 

• Eligible activities include:  

• Infrastructure-focused hazard mitigation projects 

• Capability and capacity-building activities that directly support infrastructure (e.g., building code adoption, project scoping) 

• Grant management costs 

• Cost share:  

• 75% federal / 25% nonfederal (standard) 

• 90% / 10% for small, impoverished communities 

• Up to 100% federal for certain insular area awards under $200,000 

How Projects Will Be Evaluated 

• Infrastructure project readiness and constructability 

• Risk reduction outcomes and useful life 

• Strong Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) 

• Building code adoption and enforcement 

• Consideration for new applicants and small or disadvantaged communities 

• Environmental considerations, future conditions, NEPA, and clear go/nogo milestones 

What Cities Should Do Now 

• Identify infrastructure mitigation projects that can reach advanced design quickly 

• Confirm HMP status and clearly link project needs to plan priorities 

• Validate match funding and BCA assumptions early 

• Coordinate internally to ensure federal procurement requirements are followed from the start 

• Prepare for earlier state deadlines, not just the FEMA deadline 

How WSB Can Help 

WSB has experience helping communities successfully pursue BRIC funding—from early strategy and readiness assessments to application development and implementation. In the past, our team partnered with the City of Tulsa to secure the first competitive BRIC award in Region 6, a $24 million investment in resilient infrastructure. As BRIC moves forward under its new structure, WSB can help cities evaluate competitiveness, advance project readiness, and align applications with FEMA’s updated priorities—so resilient infrastructure projects move from concept to construction. 

Q&A with Pete Helder | Director, Survey

Pete Helder is Director of Survey at WSB, with more than 35 years of experience in the survey and construction industry. Pete has led surveying efforts across municipal, land development, energy and infrastructure projects, with expertise in ALTA/NSPS Land Title surveys, boundary and topographic surveys and right‑of‑way platting. His background includes coordinating survey crews, supporting design for streets and subdivisions and delivering clear, defensible survey information that supports ownership, access and construction decisions. Pete brings a practical, detail‑driven approach to his work and continues to build trusted client relationships through consistent delivery and technical leadership.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Surveying?

What I enjoy most about surveying is the mix of precision, problem-solving, and people. I especially enjoy ALTA/NSPS land title surveys and boundary surveys because they require you to be thorough—researching record documents, weighing evidence in the field, and then turning all of that into a clear deliverable that a title company, lender, owner, and design team can rely on. I like the challenge of resolving questions before they become issues, and I take pride in producing work that is defensible and easy for others to use. As of the past 6 years or so I genuinely enjoy the client development side of survey— building relationships, understanding what a client needs from the survey, and being the person they trust to deliver consistently.

What is the Significance of Surveying?

Surveying is critical because it establishes a reliable source of truth for property and design decisions. For ALTA and boundary work, which means providing certainty around ownership, access, easements, encroachments, and improvements—information that directly supports title, financing, due diligence, and risk management. On the design and construction side, accurate control and topographic information keep teams aligned, reduce rework, and help projects get built where they’re supposed to be. When the survey is right and clearly communicated, it prevents disputes, saves time and money, and gives every stakeholder confidence to move forward.

What Inspired You to Pursue a Career in Surveying?

I was drawn to surveying because it fits how I like to work: hands-on and detail-oriented, with real responsibility behind the finished product. I like that surveying combines field work, record research, and technology, and that good judgment matters as much as good measurements. As I got more exposure to ALTA and boundary surveys, I realized I enjoyed this type of work the most, tracking down the right documents, reconciling record information with field evidence, and producing a map that tells the story clearly. Over time, the client-facing part became just as rewarding; listening to what a client is trying to accomplish and delivering a survey they can trust for decisions and deadlines.

What is a Project You Enjoyed Working On?

One project I especially enjoyed was the Catalina I & II Solar Project—it was our first utility-scale solar project in California. It was exciting because it combined the parts of surveying I like most: careful boundary and records work, efficient field execution over a large site, and strong communication with the broader project team plus I got to travel there weekly while it was freezing cold here in Minnesota. With a project of that scale, there’s a lot riding on getting the boundary, access, and existing conditions documented clearly so the owner, engineers, and contractors can make decisions with confidence. I enjoyed being part of a team that helped set the groundwork for a successful build, and it was rewarding to see our survey work directly support the project as it moved forward.