“ARC is about building bridges; it’s about reconciling conflict between roads and wildlife, people and animals, and getting us all where we need to go safely, at a lower cost. ARC is also about building bridges between science and design, and in the process, reconnecting our landscapes.” – Nina-Marie Lister Ecologist and Planner, Ryerson University
Each fall and winter, with our deer population rutting, drivers on our local roads face increased odds of colliding with wildlife, especially in early morning or dusk. And it is not just folks on the Eastern Shore that are experiencing this; collisions between wildlife and vehicles have gone up 50% in the past 15 years, with a price tag of $8 billion per year.
The modern reality is that we need to drive, and need to reach our destination as quickly and safely as possible. Animals need the same thing, having to cross roadways while searching for mates, food or even just normal migration. As our roadway system has been built out, it has the unintended consequence of interrupting and fragmenting natural habits, as well as the travel routes of wild animals. Most animals killed on the highway are hit conducting normal, routine parts of their lives. Road mortality is documented as one of the major threats to the survival of 21 federally listed threatened or endangered species in North America.
A U.S. Federal Highway Administration study reports that there are approximately one million to two million collisions between cars and large mammals every year in the U.S. This represents a significant danger to human safety and wildlife populations. Wildlife-vehicle collisions are also increasing as a proportion of the total accidents on the continent’s roads.