SafeTREC Presentations at PedsCount! 2014

June 19, 2014

Capturing Trips on Foot: Offer Grembek and Frank Proulx at PedsCount! 2014

Preliminary findings from NCHRP 07-19: review of count methods and technologies, notably advantages and disadvantages of manual vs. automated; tips on improving data quality, and methods to adjust counts without sacrificing accuracy.

Findings and Lessons from Safe Routes to Transit: David Weinzimmer at PedsCount! 2014

Walking may be the only form of exercise available to many people, especially the elderly and low-income, but in today’s environment, places where people can walk safely are rare. Today’s communities are designed for the efficient flow of vehicles, making pedestrian and bicycle travel unsafe, and the distances between homes and employment, shopping, and other daily needs are often too great to traverse on foot or bike. And in some communities, the threat of violence is a deterrent to walking and biking, especially among children. However, there have been significant recent successes in getting people back onto their feet or wheels, and clear health benefits to go with them.

Ongoing Challenges with Pedestrian Safety Data: David Ragland and Yuanyuan Zhang at PedsCount! 2014

While California is ahead of many states in our data collection efforts around pedestrian travel and safety, there are many ongoing challenges with data collection efforts across the state. Our panelists will describe what those challenges are and help us come up with solutions to address them! 

Complete Streets: From Policy to Practice: Presentation with Swati Pande at PedsCount! 2014

Rates of walking and bicycling are rising steadily in California, even as supportive funding continues to hover at around 1 percent of transportation dollars. The State created a new Active Transportation Program in 2013 by combining several state and federal programs, but no new dollars were added. Caltrans has also developed the Smart Mobility Framework and Complete Streets Implementation Action Plan as guiding policies for the state. Meanwhile, advocates, funders, researchers, and local and regional agencies are looking for innovative opportunities to finance Complete Street improvements outside of the traditional state grant programs. 

Hear about how advocates in the Bay Area worked with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to institutionalize Complete Streets policies in nearly every county in the region in a few short months. Los Angeles County approved use of toll revenues for walk and bike infrastructure, and a private foundation in Los Angeles is getting involved by supporting grant-writing for Active Transportation Program proposals. How effective are these policies and are they moving toward implementation of safer streets? Learn what research is revealing and what Caltrans is planning to achieve complete streets and smart mobility. 

Links
View entire PedsCount! 2014 program