StreetSmart



	The Program Street Smart is an annual public education, awareness and behavioral change campaign in the Washington, DC, suburban Maryland and northern Virginia area. Since its beginning in 2002, the campaign has used radio, newspaper, and transit advertising, public awareness efforts, and added law enforcement, to respond to the challenges of pedestrian and bicyclist safety. The Street Smart program emphasizes education of motorists and pedestrians through mass media. It is meant to complement, not replace, the efforts of state and local governments and agencies to build safer streets and sidewalks, enforce laws, and train better drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. The program is coordinated by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), and is supported by federal funds made available through state governments, and funding from some TPB member jurisdictions. The Fall 2008 Street Smart transit advertising campaign ran in the month of November, with radio advertising in the second and third weeks. The Fall press event took place on Thursday, November 13 at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland. The Spring 2009 Street Smart transit advertising campaign will run from March 23 to April 19. The press event will take place on Wednesday, March 25 at 10:30 a.m. at the Reeves Center, which is located at 14th & U Streets NW in Washington, DC. Goals The goals of the campaign are to change motorist and pedestrian behavior, and reduce pedestrian and bicyclist deaths and injuries, by: Increasing awareness of the consequences of pedestrian and bicycle crashes Recommending actions to reduce risks, such as: Use Crosswalks Obey Signals Look Left-Right-Left Slow Down Stop for Pedestrians Increasing awareness of law enforcement action against unsafe and illegal behavior Enforcement Supporting the mass media and public awareness campaign is a region-wide enforcement initiative. The DC Metropolitan Police Department and the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board have stepped up efforts to share information on best practices in pedestrian enforcement with line officers. In the 2007 Street Smart enforcement waves, the DC Metropolitan Police Department (DCMPD) gave 5,695 total citations, 3,725 to drivers and 1,931 to pedestrians. DCMPD will conduct two weeks of intensive enforcement during the campaign period DCMPD has trained 230 officers in a course on effective pedestrian enforcement techniques since January of 2007. Over fifty law enforcement officers from around the region attended a half-day pedestrian enforcement seminar on February 28 in the COG Board Room. Session leaders from the District Department of Transportation, DCMPD, the Arlington County Police Department, and the Montgomery County Police Department shared information on laws and best practices in pedestrian and bicyclist enforcement. Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County and Montgomery County will step up enforcement of pedestrian safety laws at selected locations in March. Law enforcement efforts are voluntary; there is no additional or supplemental funding in the program for police overtime Evaluation In order to validate the campaign and judge effectiveness of the efforts, as in the past years of Street Smart, telephone surveys of area motorists will be conducted both before and after the campaign. Members Funding Organizations: Arlington County, Virginia City of Alexandria, Virginia City of Gaithersburg, Maryland City of Manassas Park, Virginia City of Rockville, Maryland Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Motor Vehicles District of Columbia, District Department of Transportation Fairfax County, Virginia Montgomery County, Maryland Prince George’s County, Maryland Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration, Highway Safety Office Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board gratefully acknowledges technical support and comments of staff from the following organizations: Arlington County, Department of Environmental Services, Arlington County Police Department; City of Alexandria; Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Motor Vehicles; District of Columbia, District Department of Transportation; District of Columbia, Metropolitan Police Department, Fairfax County, Department of Transportation; Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration, Highway Safety Office; Montgomery County, Maryland; Virginia Department of Transportation, Northern Virginia, and the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority.