CALIFORNIA
Pasadena Safe Community Coalition

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS PROGRAM AREA(S)
  Outstanding collaborative effort
Targets hard-to-reach/at risk population
  Pedestrian/Bicycle Safety
Safe Communities
       
TYPE OF JURISDICTION    
  City    
       
TARGETED POPULATION(S) JURISDICTION SIZE
  Children   39,641


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Pedestrian injuries are the second leading cause of death for children under age four in Los Angeles County and the State of California. Deaths to pedestrians resulting from motor vehicle crashes were highest for children four years-old and under in Los Angeles County from 1980 through 1994. In the City of Pasadena, 15 percent of all fatal injuries reported from 1980 through 1994 were the result of motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians. These data clearly indicated a higher risk of pedestrian injuries and fatalities for preschool children than for the general population.


GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the Pasadena Safe Community Coalition, created by the County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services in September 1997, was to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities for preschool children in the city. Several objectives were conceived to aid in achieving the coalition's goal:

  • Create, maintain, and institutionalize a Pasadena Safe Community Coalition
  • Develop a pedestrian injury surveillance system to identify high risk areas and populations
  • Design an education-based pedestrian injury prevention program customized for preschool children
  • Devise a public education plan to increase awareness of pedestrian injury prevention


STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services based the creation of the Pasadena Safe Community Coalition project on a program piloted in other areas of Los Angeles County, from which successful evaluations had resulted. The Department of Health Services took the development of a Safe Community Coalition as their primary strategy in meeting the goal of the initiative, supported by these various activities:

  • A partnership was formed with the Pasadena Unified School District for implementation of a preschool safety prevention and intervention program
  • A pedestrian injury surveillance system was developed—a necessary tool in identifying high risk areas and populations
  • Interventions were tailored to address the developmental and socio-cultural needs of the population to be served
  • Key intervention activities included pedestrian safety education for preschool-aged children, their parents and their teachers, who also received program implementation training. Pedestrian safety rodeos were also presented
  • Data collection, analysis, and dissemination activities were undertaken as an integral part of Coalition activities


RESULTS
The Pasadena Safe Community Coalition project has been active for one year and results are pending full analysis of the data; however, observations have revealed a reduction in pedestrian injuries for the target group of children. Moreover, the Department of Health Services has noted a change in pedestrian safety behavior by the children, as well as a positive change in parental perceptions regarding pedestrian safety.
 

FUNDING
  State:
County:
$125,000
$100,000
CONTACT  
  Billie Weiss, MPH
Director, Injury and Violence Prevention Program
County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services
313 N. Figueroa Street, Room 127
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 240-7785



NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

FALL 1998