A work plan for your active transportation group

The Santa Cruz County Community Traffic Safety Coalition (CTSC) are working on their next two year work plan, identifying projects to meet the group’s goal of reducing traffic-related injuries, and primarily focusing on improving pedestrian and bicycle safety for those traveling in Santa Cruz County. The next work plan will be effective beginning with FY2016 next June.

Cain's new bike

Among new ideas under discussion by CTSC:

  • Education and Training
    • Campaign to educate about how ‘every corner is a crosswalk’.
    • Propose media/digital projects with students at Cabrillo or other schools
  • Advocacy and Encouragement
    • Encourage development of Active Transportation Plans for all jurisdictions
    • Advocate for Green Lanes in conflict zones
  • Enforcement
    • Learn about how officers are trained for traffic enforcement.
    • Invite law enforcement Public Information Officers to CTSC meetings.
  • Engineering & Traffic Calming
    • Assist jurisdictions in mapping missing sidewalk segments. Over the past couple of years, Santa Cruz Metro (our regional transit district) has been mapping where pedestrian access to bus stops is lacking, but they don’t have the funding or authority to do anything about these missing sidewalks.
    • Expand Trash Can Sticker program to other jurisdictions. These are “traffic calming” stickers affixed to trash cans encouraging drivers to “Please Drive Slowly.”
    • Compile list of local policies on sidewalk development (new and infill).
    • Create spreadsheet outlining all land use and transportation planning documents for all jurisdictions.
    • Identify locations where sharrows and BMUFL signs could be used. Contrary to the experience in many larger systems, sharrows seem to work well to educate drivers and cyclists in the city of Santa Cruz. Out in the county these are perhaps a little less effective, but I’ll still take them on the mountain roads where roadies like to ride.
    • Create suggestions for locations needing left-hand turn pockets.
    • Make a list of intersections where free right turns could be eliminated to improve safety. Free right turns are the low radius corners encouraging high speed right turns that can be deadly for those crossing the street on foot.

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