[BWNA] FW: Making Streets Safer For Our Children: 5 Ways To Get YourTraffic Safety Project Going

Tue Sep 26 22:27:49 PDT 2006

fyi

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Jack Rubinger" <jackrubinger at comcast.net>
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 08:19:01 -0700
To: "Albert Kaufman" <albertkaufman at gmail.com>
Cc: "BWNA-Board" <bwna-board at bwna.org>, "Beaumont Wilshire List"
<bwna at bwna.org>
Subject: Re: Making Streets Safer For Our Children:  5 Ways To Get
YourTraffic Safety Project Going

Hi Albert - Here's the article:

Making Streets Safer For Our Children:
4 Ways To Get Your Traffic Safety Project Going

by Scott Kelly

Whether our children are riding their bikes to school or just playing
outside, they face serious danger from speeding traffic.  In many U.S.
cities, being hit by cars is the number one cause of death among kids 5-14
years old.  Of those that survive, many more are seriously injured.

To reduce these tragic accidents, the federal government has set up a
variety of grant programs to help slow speeding traffic.  Many cities have
also adopted specific programs designed to calm traffic and increase overall
pedestrian safety.

Unfortunately, economic realities have resulted in severe cuts to many of
these programs.  Asking your city to take action and install a speed bump,
erect a radar speed sign or even get police to monitor trouble spots can be
a real challenge.

There is hope however.  Neighborhood groups and organizations across the
country continue to organize successful efforts to slow speeding cars and
improve the safety of their streets.  Here are a few tips on how you can get
your own neighborhood safety program off the ground.

§         Join a civic group or form your own.  Groups and organizations
have a much higher success rate than individuals do at gaining approval for
traffic calming projects.  Many federally funded traffic improvement grants
are open only to established groups.  Consider combining your efforts with
existing groups that have similar goals such as a local bicycle club or
school safety board.

§         Investigate local programs.  Most cities have comprehensive
programs in place for evaluating and prioritizing requests for
traffic-calming measures.  While program cutbacks might make it harder to
get approval for your project, going through the process provides valuable
insights into the “system.”    Even if your project is rejected, any ranking
or evaluation you receive could come in handy when applying for other
programs.

§         Learn about effective solutions.  It used to be that cities relied
solely on speedbumps, crosswalks and other old-tech methods for slowing
traffic.  Recently however, new solutions have emerged.  Photo speed cameras
for instance, now provide 24-7 monitoring.  Radar speed signs can be
programmed to change speed limits during various times of the day or collect
traffic data.  Also, research has yielded some surprising results that put
in to question the effectiveness of many traditional solutions.  Some
up-front research will ensure you campaign for a solution best suited for
your situation.  A quick review of various traffic calming solutions and
related research can be found at www.stopspeeders.org
<http://www.stopspeeders.org/> .  This site also provides examples of
traffic-calming programs throughout the U.S. and helpful hints on grant
writing.

§         Apply for a grant.  There are three types of grants generally
available for traffic safety programs:  Federal grants, State grants and
private grants.  Thanks to the Internet, finding potential grants is as easy
as Googling key words such as “pedestrian safety” or “traffic calming.”  A
good place to start is www.cfda.gov <http://www.cfda.gov/> , a database of
all Federal programs available to state and local governments.

About the author:  For more than 6 years, Scott Kelly, founder of
Stopspeeders.org has been educating and empowering neighborhood groups and
other organizations looking to improve pedestrian safety.  Stopspeeders.org
is sponsored by IDC, a Portland, Oregon-based manufacturer of
traffic-calming solutions.

# # # 

Jack Rubinger
Media Relations
4415 SE 30th Ave.
Portland OR 97202
503-788-7325
>  
> ----- Original Message -----
>  
> From:  Albert  Kaufman <mailto:albertkaufman at gmail.com>
>  
> To: Jack Rubinger <mailto:jackrubinger at comcast.net>
>  
> Cc: BWNA-Board <mailto:bwna-board at bwna.org>  ; Beaumont Wilshire List
> <mailto:bwna at bwna.org>
>  
> Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 7:24  AM
>  
> Subject: Re: Making Streets Safer For Our  Children: 5 Ways To Get YourTraffic
> Safety Project Going
>  
> 
> Hi  Jack,
> 
> Thanks for writing.  Can you tell me more about the article  you have to send
> us?  I’m sure a number of people in my neighborhood  would be interested in
> learning more effective ways to calm traffic in our  community.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Albert Kaufman
> President, BWNA
> 
> PS –  to Board members and community list – if you’d like to follow up with
> this  person, by all means!
> 
>  
>> Albert,
>> 
>> Here’s a timely story idea I can help you with:
>> 
>>  
>> Making Streets Safer For Our  Children:  5 Ways To Get Your Traffic Safety
>> Project  Going
>> 
>> Whether they are heading to school, walking to the  park or just playing
>> outside,
>> children are at serious risk from speeding  cars.  Being hit by cars is the
>> number one cause of death among kids  5-14 years old in many major cities.
>> 
>> There are a number of ways to slow traffic and  increase our children’s
>> safety –
>> from marking crosswalks to installing  speedbumps and more, but they all
>> require city  approval.
>> 
>> For more than 6 years, Scott Kelley, founder of  Stopspeeders.org has been
>> helping neighborhood groups and other  organizations get the traffic calming
>> solutions they need.  Tips  include:
>> 
>> 1.       Form a group or organizations to  tackle the issue.  Local
>> governments are 
>> more apt to act quickly  when being confronted by a group rather than
>> individual
>> 
>> 2.       Find out what type of  traffic-calming programs your city currently
>> has in place and
>> apply for  all appropriate programs.  Even if you do not qualify, applying
>> for  them
>> can provide necessary ammunition required for alternative  actions.
>> 
>> 3.       Learn about government grants for  traffic calming projects in your
>> area.  Scott Kelley
>> will provide  details on where to look and how to apply for these  grants.
>> 
>> 4.       Learn about the various traffic  calming solutions available and
>> choose the one 
>> best for your needs.   A quick review of old and new methods for slowing
>> traffic.
>> 
>> 5.       Combine your efforts with other  organizations looking to meet
>> similar goals: 
>> school boards, bicycle  safety clubs, neighborhood groups etc.  There is
>> power
>> in  numbers.
>> 
>> The article can also give an example of a successful  effort by a
>> neighborhood organization
>> to slow traffic and increase child  safety in their area.
>> 
>> I’m sure the information in this article will be of  great interest to many
>> of your readers.
>> 
>> I’ll call you shortly to see how we might get  started.
>> 
>> Jack Rubinger
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Jack Rubinger
>> Media Relations
>> 4415 SE 30th Ave.
>> Portland OR  97202
>> 503-788-7325
>> 
> 
> 
> 

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