According to the latest traffic safety data from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), while traffic fatalities have decreased 8.3% from 3,884 in 2017 to 3,563 in 2018, the safety for those walking and biking in our communities continues to be a concern. In 2018, there were 893 pedestrian fatalities (a 5% decrease from 2017) and 155 bicyclist fatalities (an increase of 6.89% from 2017). Ensuring that our communities are safe for walking, biking and rolling is key for community health.
One way that UC Berkeley SafeTREC aims to achieve that is through the Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training Program (CPBST), a joint effort with California Walks (Cal Walks). The CPBST program works with local residents and safety advocates to address pedestrian and bicycle safety and strengthen collaboration with local officials and agency staff. As of 2019, 89 pedestrian and bicycle safety trainings have been conducted throughout California.
CPBST site visit in Planada, CA (Photo credit: Esther Rivera)
The CPBST Follow-Up Survey
Facing the future and the continuous need to make California neighborhoods safer and more pleasant for walking and bicycling, UC Berkeley SafeTREC invited Planning Committee members of the 49 CPBST workshops conducted from 2017 to 2019 to participate in a follow-up survey. The goals of the survey were to identify workshop outcomes, gauge the utility and success of the workshop, assess how workshops could be improved upon, and inquire if the community is interested in any additional technical assistance at this time. Explore a sampling of highlights below and access the full survey highlights here by authors Katherine L. Chen and Kaori Kuroda.
Survey Highlights
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91.2% attended the CPBST workshop they helped to plan
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76.5% are interested in conducting additional training workshops, e.g., CPBST, in their community
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73.5% reported that they planned a community outreach, education event, or other community programming since the CPBST workshop
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32.4% applied for new grants to address recommendations in the action plan report or conducted walking/biking assessments after the training
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52.9% are at the beginning stages of planning for infrastructure changes
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55.9% are making future plans based on CPBST workshop recommendations with many looking to improve street design and conditions
Visit the program page to learn more about the CPBST.
The Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training Program (CPBST) is a joint effort of the University of California Berkeley’s Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (UCB SafeTREC) and California Walks (Cal Walks). Founded in 2009, the Community Pedestrian Safety Training program was expanded in 2016 to include bicycle safety improvements.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.