Bicycles/Pedestrians

Safety Toolbox: Education and community involvement

Community activism can help raise the profile of bicycle and pedestrian issues, imbue children with safe bicycling and walking habits, and convince local elected officials to create new bike lanes or improve sidewalks.

In this section:

• Neighborhood pace car program
• Neighborhood watch program
• School intervention programs
• Billboards, electronic message boards, brochures, etc.
• Walk-your-child-to-school day
• Speed monitoring trailer

 

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Neighborhood pace car program

Intended to encourage motorists to drive safely and set a safer pace on residential streets. Participants sign a pledge to drive within the speed limit, stop for pedestrians, drive courteously, and display an official Pace Car Sticker on their vehicles. The Pace Car vehicles become "mobile speed bumps." There can be other rewards as businesses offer discounts to those with Pace Car ID cards.

 

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Neighborhood watch program

Neighborhood Traffic Watch is a neighborhood speed watch program which partners police officers with neighborhood residents who want to play an active role in solving their neighborhood speeding problems. The goal of this program is to raise public awareness about the negative impacts of speeding on neighborhood streets.

Volunteers assist in gathering speed and traffic information on their own neighborhood streets. All volunteers are trained on the proper use of the radar gun, the rules of conducting a speed watch, and how to complete the forms. Training covers the rules of conduct and proper behavior in case conflicts arise. Only those volunteers who have completed the training are allowed to conduct a speed watch.

 

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School intervention programs

Most effective in elementary schools, but junior high students can also benefit. Some examples include:

• Pedestrian safety brochures and a twenty-minute lesson plan distributed to teachers in elementary schools
• Brochures and posters distributed to school crossing guards, along with information about how to reinforce safe street crossing behavior
• Safe cycling techniques included in the physical education curriculum for elementary-school children
• Presentations by police officers at school assemblies about safe cycling and walking

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Billboards and electronic message boards, public service announcements, brochures, pamphlets, newsletters

Electronic message boards can be used to display safety messages, particularly at hot spots. Messages are changed regularly and the boards are moved repeatedly to maximize their impact.
Brochures, pamphlets, newsletters, or web sites can be used to convey detailed information about safety programs such as Bicycle Helmet Programs or Walk to School Day; safe practices, such as Get to School Safely; or instructions on the use of traffic signals, such as Bicycle Detection or How Pedestrians Signal Work

In addition to a media campaign, it is critical that a community relations campaign is conducted, involving schools, neighborhood associations, businesses and community organizations to address community issues.

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Walk-your-child-to-school day

An event held each fall. Parents and teachers can invite local officials to highlight the need for safe routes to schools.

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Speed monitoring trailer

A self-contained changeable message sign, electrically powered, that displays one of three messages:

• SPEED LIMIT 25
• YOUR SPEED XX, where XX is the vehicle's actual speed
• A dynamic display that reads SPEED LIMIT 25 until a vehicle passes at a greater speed, when it displays, YOUR SPEED XX

In this application, the sign is installed on a poll adjacent to a school with a W-65 "SCHOOL" sign above and an R-72 "WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT" below. The additional signs ensure that the installation complies with Caltrans' Installation C Policy (Traffic Manual, Chapter 10, page 10-8). They can be used at several locations and should have occasional police monitoring and enforcement to maintain driver respect.