Last week, during the California-wide PedsCount! Summit, we launched Street Story, SafeTREC’s new community engagement platform that allows residents, community groups and agencies to collect information about transportation collisions, near-misses, general hazards and safe locations to travel. In essence, the platform invites users to enter stories about travel experiences.
Crash data is readily available and accessible for public use through government information databases. Crash data typically entails vehicle-related injuries and fatalities that were reported to police authorities. But what about unreported incidents--incidents that only require exchange of contact and insurance information, incidents that may not involve an injury or injuries that might not have been reported?
Low-income groups, people with disabilities, seniors, and communities of color are at higher risk of being injured while walking and biking. Information on the safety needs of these groups is also limited.
This summer, the Street Story team worked with local agencies in Bakersfield and the organization, Bike Bakersfield, to collect community feedback about street safety issues and opportunities in the area.
