Wiki Wednesday: “Shovel-Ready” Pedestrian Safety Plans?

Theconcept includes a step by step methodology to identify and correctpedestrian safety hazards, as well as to plan a more walkable communityfrom the ground up. FHWA developed a how-to guide, and contracted withpedestrian design experts to provide 2-day or 3-day trainings to stateand local transportation departments around the country. This federaleffort was initiated when it was recognized that most traffic engineersreceive inadequate professional training to effectively addresspedestrian safety concerns.

From 2005 to 2007, FHWAconducted 77 trainings in the 14 states that ranked highest inpedestrian crashes. In some states, the trainings resulted in almostimmediate pedestrian safety improvement projects or evaluation efforts.

Implementing a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan is not usually a highpriority for traffic engineering departments, and require consistentadvocacy from neighborhood organizations or elected officials.