UC Berkeley SafeTREC is excited to share an update and refresh to our Safe System Approach toolkit, including new strategies, easier navigation, and more!
Our toolkit, Implementing the Safe System Approach: Strategies to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety, aims to help create safer communities for walking and biking across California through the use of the Safe System Approach. Within the toolkit, each strategy is organized into key categories and can be easily navigated using the listed keywords. These keywords include:
-
Advocacy and policy: Actions and plans that aim to garner support for a particular cause, such as improving road safety, which can be used as a basis for decision-making within different institutions.
-
Data collection and analysis: Strategies that systematically gather and examine information to discover patterns and relationships in transportation-related data.
-
Infrastructure: Permanent or temporary structures, systems, and facilities that establish the layout of the roadway.
-
Programming: An integrated set of planned strategies, activities, and services that address community concerns and promote pedestrian and/or bicycle safety and activity.
Download the toolkit, available in English and Spanish, today!
What is the Safe System Approach?
The Safe System Approach is a framework committed to zero traffic fatalities or serious injuries on our roads. It is human-centered and proactive, focusing on the most vulnerable populations who experience a disproportionate rate of traffic fatalities and serious injuries. It recognizes that roadway design, management, and investments must prioritize the safety of all road users.
The Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program (CPBSP) team adapted the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Safe System elements and principles to make them more impactful for grassroots community engagement. This includes a seventh key principle in order to emphasize the need to prioritize equity throughout the system to address persistent disinvestments and institutional biases and the replacement of the safe vehicles element with two new elements: capacity strengthening and policies, planning, and safety data. This adaptation reflects the need to engage marginalized communities and invest in active transportation safety.
With our adapted Safe System Approach framework, the CPBSP team:
-
Reviews pedestrian and bicycle crash data and safety strategies;
-
Facilitates walking and biking assessments;
-
Strategizes with communities to define specific community pedestrian and bicycle safety goals and actionable next steps; and
-
Empowers communities to strengthen collaborations in order to implement specific walking and biking safety recommendations in their communities.
You can find the toolkit and more details about the work our team conducts across California on our Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program webpage
About the Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program
The CPBSP is a statewide active transportation and community engagement project of UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) and California Walks (Cal Walks) that aims to reduce pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries in communities across California. The program engages residents, traffic safety stakeholders, and both traditional and non-traditional partners alike in active transportation planning and strengthens the capacity of community partners to create safer and more accessible streets for those walking and biking in their neighborhoods. It uses the Safe System Approach framework to engage residents and advocates to develop a community-driven action plan and context-sensitive recommendations informed by community feedback and participation in the program. Follow-up technical assistance is offered to communities that previously received training to support their pedestrian and bicycle safety efforts.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the OTS.