Session: Traffic Safety and Community Development

March 31, 2:30 PM

Ned Levine, PhD
Houston-Galveston Area Council

Susan Hirtz
Texas Children’s Hospital

Jeff Taebel
Houston-Galveston Area Council

This session described a traffic safety program developed by the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) and its relationship to community planning. In a large metropolitan-area, such as Houston, the majority of motor vehicle crashes occur on local roads. A disproportionate number of crashes, particularly involving pedestrians and bicyclists, occur in low income, minority communities. A GIS-based crash information system is used to identify motor vehicle crash hot spots, including those involving pedestrians and bicyclists. Many children are involved in the pedestrian crashes.

H-GAC is implementing five actions to improve safety in these communities. First, a partnership is created that involves the local government, the local police department, the state department of transportation, the public health community, redevelopment agencies, the school district and local schools, non-profit community groups, and the larger transportation community. Second, improvements are made to the road system. An engineering study is conducted to identify causal road factors in crashes and recommendations are made for mitigation. Third, education programs are initiated at schools to teach children about how, when and where to cross streets and to ride bicycles. Frequently, there are cultural differences in understanding the road system and efforts are needed to teach children (and their parents) safe pedestrian behavior. Fourth, enforcement efforts are increased to slow drivers in areas of high concentration of pedestrians and in encouraging parents to act responsibly in dropping off and picking up children at their schools. Fifth, ‘best practices’ planning and development regulation tools are encouraged to improve safety in the community, including limits on curb cuts, traffic calming, street and intersection standards and site planning. Several community safety projects were described.

Traffic Safety and Community Development (Ned Levine)

Pedestrian-Bicycle Accommodations (Jeff Taebel)

Walk This Way: Rallying the Grassroots (Susan Hirtz)

Author and Copyright Information

Ned Levine, PhD, is Transportation Program Coordinator at the Houston-Galveston Area Council and heads up the traffic safety program at the agency. His e-mail address is ned.Levine@hgac.com.

Susan Hirtz is the manager of the Center for Childhood Injury Prevention and the Coordinator for SAFE KIDS Greater Houston at the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Her e-mail address is SAHirtz@texaschildrenshospital.org.

Jeff Taebel is program manager of the Community and Environmental Planning program at the Houston-Galveston Area Council and heads the pedestrian-bicycle mobility program. His e-mail address is Jeff.taebel@hgac.com.