DHHS Receives $125,000 Grant for Eureka Traffic Safety Outreach

This is a press release from the Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services:

The Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) and the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) are partnering to improve safety and awareness for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists in Eureka. The Healthy Communities Division of DHHS’s Public Health branch received a one-year, $125,000 grant from OTS’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program.

The money will help fund community workshops, which will utilize the locally adapted Bicycle and Pedestrian Friendly Driver Program to help motorists learn ways to safely and legally share the road with bicyclists and pedestrians. Youth will have the opportunity to practice safe pedestrian and bicycling skills in a hands-on learning environment. Education and outreach will be geared toward school-aged children, families and older adults in Eureka.

The Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System reports that between 2013 and 2015, Eureka had 59 bicycle and 82 pedestrian involved collisions. Sixty-four of those occurred along the Highway 101 corridor. Compared to cities of similar size, Eureka ranked second for pedestrian collisions and 11th for collisions involving bicyclists in 2016, according to OTS data.

Call the Healthy Communities Division at 707-268-2132 to learn more. To share your experience walking, cycling or driving at specific locations, please visit Street Story at streetstory.berkeley.edu.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.