How Local Governments Can Turn Traffic Data Into Safer Streets

Citian's Ryan Westrom joined David Spencer, Transportation Engineering Manager for the Town of Cary, North Carolina, on The Public Works Podcast to talk about how local governments can turn traffic data into safer streets. Watch the full episode below.

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Meet the Guests

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David Spencer is the Transportation Engineering Manager for the Town of Cary, where he oversees traffic and transportation engineering, capital project delivery, and development review.

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Ryan Westrom is Vice President of Applied Innovation at Citian, where he works with regional, state, and local agencies to modernize how they collect, manage, and act on roadway safety data.

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Why This Conversation Matters

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Safer streets start with knowing where the risk is. Clear, reliable data helps agencies of all sizes focus limited budgets on the locations that matter most, and gives them the evidence to defend those decisions with elected officials, funders, and the public.

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What We Explore

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• Practical first steps for small teams. Agencies can start small, even when staff time and budgets are limited.
• Moving from reactive to proactive safety. Visualizing crash patterns across a network helps agencies spot emerging risk and act before the next serious crash.
• Building trust with timely data. Current, clear data helps agencies answer questions from elected officials and residents in council meetings and community conversations.

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The episode also touches on Cary's connected vehicle program, traffic safety myths worth retiring, and career advice for transportation and public works professionals.

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How Cary Puts Its Data to Work

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Cary's transportation team is lean by design. With CRASH, signal warrant analyses that once took hours now take minutes, and staff can answer questions from residents and council members in real time. By looking at crash frequency alongside crash rates, the team also surfaced a capital project at an intersection next to the municipal building that the old process may have missed.

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“We’re a lean team, and this platform lets us punch above our weight. I’ve had it open in the middle of council meetings. It changes how you show up for those conversations.” — David Spencer, Town of Cary

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Learn More

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Curious how your agency can put its traffic and safety data to work?

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Schedule a demo →

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Thank you to The Public Works Podcast for having us, and to David and the Town of Cary for sharing their work!