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Walk Safe™: Keeping Pedestrians Safe in the “Danger Zone” is an English language instructional video designed to teach pedestrian safety concepts to non-native English speakers. Five stand-alone modules promote basic pedestrian safety concepts, identify risky behaviors and situations, and explain terms, expressions and signage. The video is accompanied by a Teacher’s Guide (pdf), worksheets and tools that suggest activities and comprehension checks.
Help us evaluate the effectiveness of the video. Encourage viewers to take the pre-survey (pdf) before they watch the video and then, a week or two after, take the post-survey (pdf).
Pedestrian Safety Public Service Announcements (PSAs) of varying lengths promote pedestrian safety concepts to the general public.
Organizations, ESOL teachers, and community groups may request a copy of the video by filling out a request form.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett Pedestrian Safety Initiative, December 2007(PDF)
County Executive Leggett, Councilmembers, and State Officials Highlight Long Branch Streetscaping Project
On June 5th, County Executive Isiah Leggett joined by County Councilmembers Valerie Ervin and George Leventhal, along with Maryland Delegate Tom Hucker and members of the Long Branch Task Force to commemorate work beginning on Phase One of a project to enhance the streetscape in a portion of the Long Branch community.
The project is financed by State Community Legacy funds and a federal Economic Development Initiative grant and will include sidewalks and other enhancements on
Arliss Street between Flower Avenue and Garland Street. The improved streetscape will include new pedestrian streetlights, trash receptacles, shade trees and disability accessible curb ramps.
This section of streetscaping is the first part built to new design standards, developed with community input, through the work of the Long Branch Advisory Committee. The design standards are now a development requirement for future projects in
Long Branch.
New Sidewalk to Replace Temporary Pedestrian Bridge along Montrose Road Construction
View of Montrose Parkway from Montrose Road (photo by Craig Lease)
As part of the overall Montrose Parkway West project, work started last winter on reconstructing a portion of Montrose Road. This work has required closing Montrose Road between Tildenwood Drive and East Jefferson Street and diverting traffic onto the parkway. Local traffic has had access from either side of the bridge to homes, churches, and synagogues, and a temporary pedestrian bridge on the north side of Montrose Road has provided walker access.
Now a new sidewalk is being constructed along the south side of Montrose Road starting from the parkway intersection and traveling east to Evelyn Drive. The temporary pedestrian bridge is being removed to make room for infill dirt connected with the new Montrose Road bridge over the stream below. Pedestrians and motorists should follow signs and use caution when walking or driving through this construction zone.
The parkway itself is done. We have made numerous adjustments to the signal timing and signage to improve the traffic flow. Thank you for your patience with the detour. The new bridge on Montrose Road will eliminate flooding and provide a safe crossing for wildlife. Montrose Road should be completed and fully re-opened by July. For more information, go to the Division of Capital Development’s website.
Check the pedestrian safety advertising banner that is appearing from time to time across the top of WTOP’s website (WTOP.com)!
This ad was developed by the StreetSmart regional pedestrian safety education program that local governments support. In FY08, Montgomery County contributed $45,000 to program and hosted the fall campaign kick-off event at the Training Center in Rockville. The campaign recently held a spring media event focused on enforcement in Virginia.
On December 5, 2007, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett announced his Pedestrian Safety Initiative, a strategic plan designed to reduce pedestrian collisions and ensure that all areas of the County provide safe and convenient travel options for pedestrians. Pedestrian Safety Initiative (pdf).
At Montgomery County's World Day of Remembrance commemoration for victims of pedestrian collisions, a priest, minister and rabbi led a responsive reading to help victims and their families heal. During the November 18 event, attendees were urged to honor the victims by taking personal responsibility in making sure their own neighborhoods are safe for pedestrians.
CALL TO ACTION
“Remember, Reflect and Respond” to promote pedestrian safety in your community and help reduce collisions and fatalities. Get your friends, neighbors and loved ones involved by taking one or more of the actions below:
1) Distribute Pledge Cards
Create your own pledge cards that outline a few simple safety measures and distribute them. Urge people to stop clear of crosswalks, be aware of pedestrians, refrain from text messaging while driving, drive at safe speeds and make sure everyone uses seatbelts.
2) Start a Reflective Ribbon Campaign
Begin a reflective ribbon campaign in your community to symbolize a commitment to road safety. Suggest that people wear them on clothing or bags, or display them on vehicles to commemorate the victims of road crashes.
3) Involve Local Business
Get local businesses involved in the effort to make your community safer. Inquire about posting campaign posters, sponsoring and/or helping to plan local safety events or donating giveaways, such as reflective gear.
4) Report Defective Traffic Control Devices
Take personal responsibility for the safety of your community by reporting any defective traffic control devices such as worn crosswalks, malfunctioning pedestrian crossing signals, broken streetlights or damaged traffic signs.
5) Adopt a Sidewalk
Take safety into your own hands by being responsible for a portion of sidewalk in front of your residence. Make sure the sidewalk is free of obstructions and is well maintained, so it is accessible to all.
6) Conduct a Neighborhood Walkability Audit
Partner with your civic association to perform an assessment of pedestrian routes. Look for safety hazards and needed improvements to make walking routes more accessible and safer for pedestrians of all ages.
7) Wear Reflective Gear
Using reflective gear is one of the easiest and most effective ways to ensure one’s personal safety. Reflective items are inexpensive, easy to wear and make pedestrians more visible to drivers -- especially at night.
8) Begin a Crosswalk Campaign
Start a crosswalk campaign in your community to emphasize the importance of crosswalk use for pedestrians and crosswalk awareness for drivers. Jaywalking is a major cause of pedestrian crashes leading to injury and death. Raise driver awareness about the importance of stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks and avoiding blocking them.
9) Start a School Road Safety Campaign
Children are one of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to pedestrian collisions. Start campaigns in local schools to teach children how to cross streets safely.
10) Start a Walking School Bus
Take turns with other parents escorting children to and from school each day. Parents will have the opportunity to teach kids good safety practices, while improving everyone’s health and fitness.
At Wheaton High School, on August 24, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett announced the installation of the County’s first permanent speed camera. A pedestrian safety tip sheet for parents and kids that includes school bus and transit bus safety information was distributed at the event. See details on the County's website here.
The term of the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee was extended on June 19 from July 2007 to July 2012 by Council Resolution 16-192. Applications for new member positions as well as reappointments of existing members were due July 27. You can see the vacancy annoucement here. The next full meeting of the Committee will be Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at 7:00 PM in Rockville. Please see the meeting calendar for full details.
On June 18, 2007, the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) held its third community outreach meeting. Billed as “Dialogues” they were intended to generate communication between the public, County staff working to make walking and biking safer, and the members of the PSAC. You can read about the event in the June 21 Washington Post.
A press event was held on May 21 at Stone Mill Elementary School to highlight pedestrian safety activities aimed at kids (see the full details in the County’s press release here). Speakers (from left to right) included Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jerry Weast; Edward B. Cohen, Vice President, Government and Industry Affairs, Honda North America, Inc; Ms. Kimberly Williams, Principal, Stone Mill Elementary School; County Councilmember Nancy Floreen, chair of the Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee; State Delegate Bill Bronrott (D-District 16, Bethesda); Councilmember Phil Andrews, chair of the Council’s Public Safety Committee; County Executive Ike Leggett; and at the podium, Matthew Sagger, fifth grader and Captain of the Stone Mill safety patrol.
Honda of North America, Inc. donated 400 copies of a 14-minute DVD on pedestrian safety called “Step to Safety with ASIMO.” The DVD, aimed at 5-to-9 year-olds, will be distributed to every public and private K-5 school in Montgomery County, and every County library will receive two copies. You can also view the DVD online here: http://asimo.honda.com/SafetyVideo.aspx
Matthew Saggar, Safety Patrol Captain, giving an interview on his experiences on the front lines of school pedestrian safety.
This year’s Street Smart campaign is underway. Brochures and posters from the campaign will be distributed throughout the year. See the County’s press release regarding Street Smart here.
The Street Smart campaign was started by Montgomery County in 2002 using a $50,000 State grant awarded to the County and $50,000 in County funds. This seed money helped leverage the $400,000 to $500,000 annual regional effort, which is now directed by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and is supported by federal, state, county and local agencies from suburban Maryland, the District of Columbia, and northern Virginia.
Street Smart is an annual public education, awareness and behavioral change campaign in the Washington, DC, suburban Maryland and northern Virginia area. The campaign uses radio, newspaper, and transit advertising, public awareness efforts, and added law enforcement, to respond to the challenges of pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
The Montgomery County Police Department has been conducting additional enforcement and educational activities to complement this year’s campaign.
Kennedy High School Pedestrian Safety Training, December 19, 2006
Jeff Radan, consultant and trainer, teaching Kennedy HS students.
A group of about 50 Kennedy High School students, as a part of their Leadership Training Institute, Agents of Change program, went through a pedestrian safety "train the trainer" course on December 19, 2007. They learned how to be safe pedestrians with the aim of teaching the same new knowledge and skills to elementary school students in the Kennedy cluster.
Kennedy HS Group photo (sorry to those just outside of this shot!)
The walk training program is supported by the Pedestrian Safety Program in the County Executive's Office. The first training took place in 2005 at Blair High School and the Blair kids have had great success and great fun in teaching younger kids in their cluster to be safe walkers. Typically, the elementary school trainings are conducted during two physical education periods. Another training session was recently given to Northwest High School students in April, 2008.
If your high school has a group a students with the time and commitment required for this program, you can arrange for training by calling DPWT's Community Outreach office at 240.777.7155 or by email.
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