City of Pasadena issued the following on Nov. 16
Transportation Department Receives $150,000 Grant from California Office of Traffic Safety for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Program
The City of Pasadena’s efforts to enhance safety for bicyclists citywide just got a financial boost thanks to a $150,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to the City’s Department of Transportation for its pedestrian and bicycle safety program. The City will use the funding for a year-long bicyclist safety outreach program aimed at reducing severe injuries and fatalities to pedestrians and bicyclists resulting from crashes. Specifically, this program will provide safety equipment and education materials to bicyclists and upgrade the City’s traffic camera database to capture and collect pedestrian and bicycle counts for more effective interpretation.
Collision data collected in Pasadena for 2010 through 2019 showed that although the number of collisions involving bicyclists make up approximately 5% of collisions citywide, bicyclists account for 15% of all severe injuries and fatalities resulting from traffic collisions. Combined with pedestrian collisions, 40% of all severe injuries and fatalities resulting from collisions in Pasadena during this ten-year period happen to pedestrians and bicyclists while only being involved in 9% of all collisions.
Education and outreach efforts funded by the OTS grant will promote safe behaviors by motorists and bicyclists, including avoiding distractions and highlighting awareness and visibility of other road users. Bicyclist safety equipment such as bike lights, helmets, and safety pamphlets will be distributed to cyclists in commercial areas and schools, with a focus on students new to cycling or Pasadena around local colleges and K-12 schools. This outreach component will occur once in-person activities are considered safe.
The traffic database upgrade allows the City to better understand pedestrian and bicyclist travel patterns and in turn better optimize the transportation network. Current traffic cameras in Pasadena are only able to capture motor vehicle data.
This grant funding provides an opportunity for the City to potentially reduce the percentage of collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists and reduce the number of fatalities and severe injuries by providing educational resources and improvements to the City collision database.
Funding for this mobility safety program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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Original source can be found here
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