FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 30, 2022
Contact: Colin Parent
619-567-6856 | [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE: CIRCULATE SAN DIEGO AND GROUNDWORK SAN DIEGO COMPLETE WALKING FIELD TRIPS IN SOUTHEAST SAN DIEGO
Circulate San Diego recently partnered with local climate action nonprofit Groundwork San Diego to perform walking field trips near Federal Boulevard and Euclid Avenue in Southeast San Diego. Participants helped identify infrastructure improvements that can increase pedestrian safety. Participants included members of the Chollas Creek Coalition, EarthLab high school students, and area residents.
Circulate San Diego’s efforts received funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the San Diego Police Department to provide pedestrian, bicycle, and scooter safety education. Circulate San Diego partnered with community groups and organizations to lead walking field trips throughout the year to identify safety hazards and to educate people on how to use roads safely. Efforts have been largely concentrated in neighborhoods that have been fragmented, segregated, and isolated by past transportation investment and/or along high-injury corridors.
The walking field trips were located near Webster Elementary School, which is located northeast of the Interstate 805 and State Highway 94 interchange, and along corridors that will lead to a planned pocket park on Home Avenue and Federal Boulevard. Photos from the field trips are attached to this release.
A common theme echoed throughout the walking field trips was that cars travel too fast and the distance between pedestrian crossings are too far apart. Cars traveling at higher speeds require longer stopping distances, and higher speed crashes are more likely to result in serious injuries and deaths. In addition, midblock crossings without a crosswalk were frequently observed with the nearest crossing at times a half-mile away.
There is a midblock crossing at 48th Street and Federal Boulevard. As one resident stated to Circulate San Diego staff, “It is a terribly dangerous crossing. Cars drive too fast, there is no button to press, and the lights flash continuously so its hard to know if someone is trying to cross.” Another resident says he uses that crossing but shared, “You have to run.”
Based on data projections from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), 7,485 people, or an average of 20 people every day, died after being struck by a vehicle last year – an 11.5% increase from 2020 and a 40-year high.
Traffic calming treatments, such as road diets, curb extensions, and signalized midblock crossings with elevated sidewalks, can help slow the speed of cars and reduce the number and severity of crashes.
The California Office of Traffic Safety offers the following safe driving and walking tips, including staying off the phone when behind the wheel or walking, to help ensure the safety of all roadway users.
Drivers
- Do not speed, and slow down at intersections. Be prepared to stop for pedestrians at marked and unmarked crosswalks.
- Avoid blocking crosswalks while waiting to make a right-hand turn.
- Never drive impaired.
Pedestrians
- Be predictable. Use signalized crosswalks where drivers may anticipate foot traffic.
- Watch for approaching vehicles and be careful crossing the street. At 30 mph, a driver needs at least 90 feet to stop.
- Make it easier for drivers to see you at night – wear light colors, reflective material and use a flashlight.
- Be careful crossing streets or entering crosswalks at night or on busier streets with higher speed limits.
Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
