Safe Routes to School (SR2S)
The highly anticipated Safe Routes to School - Portland program
launched in the summer of 2005 utilizing funds from an increase in City
traffic fine revenues. This comprehensive five-year pilot program
involves eight elementary schools the first year, adding schools each
of the remaining years. Safe Routes to School - Portland is designed to
increase the number of kids walking and biking to school using elements
from the ‘4 E’s’ –
Encouragement, Education, Engineering and Enforcement – and
is modeled after the highly successful Marin County, California
national model program.
WPC, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, and the Alliance for Community Traffic Safety in Oregon (ACTS
Oregon) partner to provide educational services regarding
pedestrian safety and encouragement activities in schools participating
in the Portland Safe Routes To School program. The services are
targeted towards elementary students in the second and fourth grade,
parents, and the neighborhood surrounding participating schools.
Services include in-class instruction on pedestrian safety, after
school programs, student encouragement activities and community
meetings regarding pedestrian safety and community empowerment.
Community-led activities such as Surveys, Walkabouts, Mapping, Walk and
Bike to School Day, and Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Education classes
will analyze conditions around the schools and involve parents,
students, community groups and government agencies in helping improve
the walk and bike to school and get more kids onto their feet!
The WPC and Bicycle Transportation Alliance are part of a team, which
also includes Alta Consulting+Design, Alliance for Community Traffic
Safety-Oregon, and the Portland Department of Transportation.
Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Training and Mini-Grants
To work on improving pedestrian safety, WPC and the Bicycle
Transportation Alliance (BTA) team up with police and sheriffs’
departments across Oregon to make it safer to cross the street.
In partnership with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), BTA
and WPC are pleased to offer mini-grants for the enforcement of
crosswalk laws. In 2005, BTA/WPC awarded 27 Pedestrian Safety
Enforcement (PSE) mini-grants to enforcement agencies throughout
Oregon.
The program provides funds to police departments around the state to
stage crosswalk enforcement actions against motorists who fail to yield
to pedestrians. In these operations, a decoy police officer attempts to
cross a street at an intersection or marked crosswalk. (Crosswalk
laws apply to unmarked crosswalks as well.) If passing motorists
fail to stop and yield for the pedestrian they are issued either a
warning or a citation. The operations include a media outreach
component, with the purpose of raising awareness around motorist
responsibility toward pedestrians. Grant funds may also be used to
offer diversion classes that violators can take in lieu of paying
tickets. Community response from citizens and public officials
has been overwhelmingly positive.
Learn more about the crosswalk law in a brochure produced by the Oregon Department of Transportation. Link here for a .pdf version of the brochure.
Beaverton Greenway Elementary School
Working with
City engineering staff, WPC assisted in establishing a pilot program at
Greenway Elementary School. WPC met with Site Council,the Police
Department, the school principal and others to answer questions and
provide guidance for encouragement, education, enforcement and
engineering activities planned for the 2005-06 school year.
Lake Oswego Pedestrian Programs
WPC presented to the Lake Oswego City Transportation Advisory
Commission and worked with City Councilors and community members to
establish encouragement and education programs citywide.
Willamette Pedestrian Coalition
Promoting a better pedestrian environment