Pedestrian Safety Grant Boosts California Programs
Training and outreach to communities where pedestrian risk is high are continued by a $250,000 grant funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The California Department of Public Health has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to expand its pedestrian safety efforts. Recent gains are good, but pedestrian injuries and deaths remain too high in California -- higher than in other states, the agencies say.
Pedestrian deaths in California fell by 21 percent, from 666 in 2007 to 523 in 2008, and injuries declined by 49 percent during the same period, CDPH said. "These declines are encouraging and demonstrate the effectiveness of the efforts of California's pedestrian safety partners and advocates," said Dr. Mark Horton, CDPH's director. The grant allows CDPH to continue the California Pedestrian Safety Network, which educates and links public health, traffic safety, and community advocates; to publish results from the Pedestrian Safety Data Task Force; to train traffic and engineering professionals to develop pedestrian safety action plans in communities where pedestrian risk is high; and to complete the development and dissemination of pilot training for the Risk Communication Workbook for Pedestrian Safety, which is a guide for responding to pedestrian crisis and promoting community change.
"A state as large and diverse as ours requires coordinated planning and education to ensure the safety of pedestrians," said Christopher J. Murphy, the director of OTS. "CDPH will capitalize on this coordination to help create a better pedestrian environment that will encourage pedestrians of all ages and abilities to walk and do so safely."
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from OTS through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.