WALKSacramento staff and our board president had the pleasure of attending the second Pedestrians Count! Conference in Los Angeles last week. I wish I could have gone to all the sessions! There were so many great presentations, discussions, and inspirations packed into the two-day event that it is hard to pick just a few to talk about, but what follows are resources all pedestrian advocates should know about. Leave a comment if you were at Peds Count! and let us know what your favorite part was.
It is always a pleasure to see Dr. Richard Jackson speak, as he did at the Friday plenary. Dr. Jackson says a good solution solves multiple problems. Building walkable communities will do just that: it will make Americans healthier, will decrease spending on costly sprawling infrastructure, and will improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and conserve undeveloped land. If you haven’t yet checked it out, watch the PBS series he hosted, Designing Healthy Communities.
Holly Sisneros presented the California Pedestrian Safety (PedSafe) Program’s workbook, Communication for Pedestrian Safety: Risk, Response and Change. The workbook is recommended reading for advocates, law enforcement, planners and engineers who may find themselves responding to media and public inquiries regarding pedestrian-involved collisions. It is key to read the workbook and develop a plan with partners before an event occurs.
The Model Design Manual for Living Streets, developed by Ryan Snyder Associates, is a fully customizable manual for designing complete streets. Local jurisdictions can adopt the manual as it is, or edit it to meet their specific needs. If you’ve ever had trouble wading through all the manuals and policies that shape how our roads are designed, I highly suggest reading the Legal Standing of Street Manuals section of Chapter One.
Congratulations to California WALKS for organizing another successful Pedestrians Count! WALKSacramento is glad to have helped with the registration, outreach, and organizing of this conference.