Pasadena Gets Grant for Safer Streets – Pasadena School Area Safety Program

The City of Pasadena has received a $145,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for use in its proposed Safer Streets – Pasadena School Area Safety Program for 2017 through 2017, an announcement by the City’s Department of Transportation said.

The announcement is contained in an Agenda Report prepared by the transportation department for the City Council, which will discuss the proposed project Monday during its regular session.

The department, through Transportation Director Frederick Dock, is recommending that the City Council authorize City Manager Steve Mermell to enter into an agreement with the California OTS to receive the grant and any subsequent agreement related to the award.

It is also recommending that the department’s budget for fiscal year 2017 be amended to recognize and appropriate the grant amount for the Safer Streets – Pasadena School Area Safety Program.

According to a program description, Safer Streets will combine education and outreach objectives, using a classroom-level pedestrian outreach campaign to third grade students while also addressing parents and motorists who drive through school zones in the Pasadena area.

As part of the program, the city will also update suggested routes to school maps for each of the 18 elementary and middle schools in Pasadena and survey students to determine what routes they take to school and what factors contribute to their decision whether or not to walk to school. Activities within the program also include the expansion of the “We Make Time” pedestrian safety campaign developed by the city in 2014.

The Safer Streets – Pasadena School Area Safety Program supports the city’s General Plan guiding principle that Pasadena will be a city where people can circulate without cars.

The program is currently scheduled for implementation in the 2017 fiscal year, with a completion target in 2018.

In February, the City applied for an OTS grant for use in the program, according to the transportation department. The resulting award was made possible through the support of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.