[BWNA] Re: [BWNA-Board] FW: Making Streets Safer For Our Children: 5
Ways To Get YourTraffic Safety Project Going
jim karlock
jkarlock at ipns.com
Wed Sep 27 00:24:24 PDT 2006
Also be sure to see www.SecondsCount.org :
Seconds Count provides traffic calming
information often overlooked or deliberately
surpressed by anti-car activists, transportation
planners and government representatives.
thanks
JK
At 10:27 PM 9/26/06, Albert Kaufman wrote:
>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:
>
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>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.
>
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>
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>
>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.
>
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># # #
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>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
>
>
>
>
>
>
>------ End of Forwarded Message
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>bwna-board at bwna.org
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