Pedestrian safety is of particular concern in urban environments around the world, reflecting the greater population density and more constant interaction with vehicles. In Melbourne, pedestrians represent about 30 percent of road users killed, a significantly higher proportion than overall; in some metropolitan localities the proportion is higher still. The WalkSafe Program aims to reduce the incidence and severity of pedestrian crashes in urban areas. It combines the traditional elements of engineering, education, enforcement and promotions/publicity. Instead of occurring largely independently of each other, the planning and implementation of these elements takes place in a coordinated manner involving key agencies. WalkSafe represents a well targeted intervention program which, like Safe Routes to School, is based on analysis of crash data and could be suitable for implementation in some areas of New Zealand. Through identification of specific high risk locations, high risk groups within the community and behaviours contributing to pedestrian crashes, available resources can be maximised to address the most significant pedestrian problem at the community level. This approach is strengthened by the synergistic effects of combining complementary countermeasures, the community focus and the coordination by stakeholder organisations at all stages of program development and delivery. This paper focuses on the development, content, implementation and evaluation of the WalkSafe program. (A)
Samenvatting