DOT Announces Recipients of Pedestrian Safety Grants
The agency announced the winners of the pedestrian safety grants as part of its "Everyone is a Pedestrian" campaign.
DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently announced the winners of pedestrian safety grants: Louisville, Philadelphia, and New York City. The three cities will receive grants totaling roughly $1.6 million aimed at public education and enforcement initiatives to improve pedestrian safety, according to the agency's news release. The grants have been given as part of DOT's "Everyone is a Pedestrian" campaign that aims to reduce the rising number of pedestrian deaths each year.
The details of the awards are as follows:
- Louisville was awarded $307,000 and will use the funds to create a pedestrian education program for school-aged children and create safe walking routes for senior citizens. In addition, the funds will be used to conduct law enforcement training and crosswalk enforcement activities. In Louisville, six pedestrians were killed in motor vehicle crashes during 2012, representing 10 percent of the city's total traffic fatalities that year.
- Philadelphia was awarded $525,000 and will use the funds to address pedestrian safety in downtown areas by increasing police visibility and ticketing during high-risk hours in 20 high-crash locations. The grant will also be used for marketing to reach pedestrians in these areas and to train officers on pedestrian safety. In Philadelphia, a total of 31 pedestrians died in motor vehicle crashes during 2012, representing 29 percent of the city's total traffic fatalities for the year.
- New York City was awarded $805,801 and will use the funds to address speeding drivers and drivers who do not yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. The city will work on reaching the demographic most likely to be in pedestrian crashes--young men--through social media and enforcement activities in high-crash areas. There were 127 pedestrian deaths in NYC motor vehicle crashes during 2012, representing 47 percent of the city's total traffic fatalities that year.