The California Office of Traffic Safety awarded OCTA $75,000 in grant funding that will be used to fund pedestrian and bicycle safety in Orange County.
The grant will help pay for additional classes intended to raise public awareness about practices that best keep cyclists and pedestrians safe on Orange County streets. The grants are awarded throughout California on a competitive basis.
OCTA applied for the grant in response to the nearly 17 percent increase in the number of bicycle and pedestrian fatalities on Orange County roads since 2010. Activities to be funded by this year’s grant include:
- Classroom and bicycle skills training
- Distribution of bicycle lights and helmets
- Distribution of reflectors for pedestrians
- Training of safety instructors to carry on the message.
This year’s grant is part of an ongoing effort to increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists. From 2012-2014, at least 39 bicyclists and 152 pedestrians were killed and more than 6,700 bicyclists and pedestrians were injured on Orange County streets. Recognizing that this is an issue that affects all of Orange County, OCTA applied for the grant starting in 2016.
That year, OCTA received a $50,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety that helped pay for production of two safety videos addressing some of the primary reasons why collisions occur.