The Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program (CPBSP) was launched by UC Berkeley SafeTREC in collaboration with California Walks to reduce pedestrian and bicycle fatalities and serious injuries in California communities. The CPBSP prioritizes working in communities that are at disproportionate risk for road traffic injuries and addressing the safety needs of people who are underserved by traditional transportation resources and planning, e.g., older adults, people with lower incomes, people with disabilities, people who use a mobility device, immigrant or refugee populations, and more.
The CPBSP is supported by funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). We work in partnership with the non-profit agency California Walks
The program engages residents and non-traditional partners 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. We do this by:
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Educating participants on pedestrian and bicycle safety strategies and best practices, including the Safe System framework and Safe Routes to School;
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Training communities to conduct walking/biking safety assessments to identify concerns and opportunities for improvements and other data collection to advance their safety goals;
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Providing site-specific support, including traffic crash data analysis, outreach, pedestrian/bicycle safety research, and activities to develop a community-driven safety action plan;
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Sharing resources on open source mapping technology and crowdsourced data strategies;
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Engaging communities with large monolingual Spanish-speaking populations in active transportation safety discussions and creating shareable educational content; and
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Offering follow-up services to communities that previously received training to support their pedestrian and bicycle safety efforts.
CPBSP Projects
The Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training Program (CPBST)
The Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training Program (CPBST) works with local residents and health, transportation and safety advocates to understand a community’s walking and biking safety concerns and advance their pedestrian and bicycle safety goals. We work to strengthen collaboration between all safety partners, discuss transportation safety information and local crash data, and collectively develop a community-driven safety action plan. Our team works with a local Planning Committee to customize the workshop to fit the unique needs of each community. Learn more here.
Comunidades Activas y Seguras (Active and Safe Communities)
The CPBSP program team developed Comunidades Activas y Seguras (CAyS) to better serve communities with a large monolingual Spanish-speaking population. This program takes a culturally and linguistically sensitive approach to engaging communities in active transportation discussions and decision-making. Comunidades Activas y Seguras uses a cohort model to encourage communities across the state to share resources and support each other as they develop audiovisual content to share their experiences and advocate for pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements. Learn more here.
Past Projects
Focus Regions Program
The Focus Regions program was a joint project of UC Berkeley SafeTREC and California Walks. In 2015, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) designated seven Pedestrian-Bicycle Focus Cities in California based on their disproportionately high pedestrian and bicycle deaths. The goal of the project was to provide support to professional and community stakeholders in these cities in order to reduce pedestrian/bicycle fatalities. These California Focus Cities were San Francisco, San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and San Diego.
In 2021, the FHWA updated their Focused Approach to Safety. Because of disproportionately high pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, California continued to be identified as a Focus State for the Pedestrians and Bicyclists focus area. FHWA also identified speed management as an additional area of emphasis for all Focus States. The FHWA shifted their local stakeholder engagement to the regional level, with an emphasis on metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). The Kern Council of Governments, Sacramento Area Council of Governments, San Diego Association of Governments and San Joaquin Council of Governments were identified as Pedestrian Focus Regions, while the Southern California Association of Governments was named as both a Pedestrian and Bicyclist Focus Region.
Through September 2023, SafeTREC's Focus Regions Program supported local advocacy as well as community and agency partner efforts to engage and educate residents on pedestrian and bicycle safety in their city. We also provided customized technical assistance, regular support for data collection and analysis, and educational/outreach efforts. Learn more here.
The Safe Routes to School Launch Program
The Safe Routes to School Launch Program was a joint project of UC Berkeley SafeTREC and the Safe Routes Partnership. It was designed to assist communities in creating or strengthening strong Safe Routes to School programs by providing assessments, trainings, and technical assistance to increase the safety and health of their students. Learn more.
Funding for the CPBSP is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).