Webinar on Resident’s Guide for Creating Safer Communities for Walking and Bicycling

The Federal Highway Administration just released “A Resident’s Guide for Creating Safer Communities for Walking and Bicycling,” a free guide offering step-by-step instructions for residents and community groups looking to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety, access, and comfort. The guide is available for download at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/ped_cmnity/.

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) is offering a webinar that provides an overview of the guide and will review how two communities used the principles outlined within it to make their communities more walkable and bikeable.  Presenters include:

  • Tamara Redmon, FHWA
  • Laura Sandt, PBIC
  • Eva Garcia, City of Brownsville, Texas
  • Ramiro Gonzalez, City of Brownsville, Texas
  • John Paul Shaffer, Livable Memphis

The webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, 2015, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.  To register:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/824575809760209409

Tamara Redmon, with FHWA’s Office of Safety, will introduce the guide and discuss how it fits within the US Department of Transportation’s Safer People, Safer Streets Initiative.

Laura Sandt, with the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, will discuss the content of the new guide and how residents can use it, including how to identify, document, and communicate pedestrian and bicycle safety concerns; engage with a variety of groups and individuals to make improvements; explore various ways in which community members can be involved in implementing programs and changes; gain inspiration and ideas from more than a dozen success stories of other communities; and find additional resources, including tip sheets and sample materials.

Eva Garcia and Ramiro Gonzalez, with the City of Brownsville, Texas, will discuss how, through policies, programming, and new bike/ped facilities, Brownsville, a fast-growing city located on the Texas and Mexico Border with a rich cultural heritage and high poverty rates, and its partners have worked diligently to transform transportation and health within the community.

John Paul Shaffer will discuss Livable Memphis’s successes and lessons learned in advocating for and planning safer streets for bicycling and walking. Livable Memphis has used the principles of the Resident’s Guide to further its work around improving bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, increasing access to transit, and promoting Complete Streets in the Memphis region.