Texas Pedestrian Safety Coalition

Texas Pedestrian Safety Coalition

2020 Texas Pedestrian Safety Forum

The 2020 Texas Pedestrian Safety Forum was held virtually on August 6, 2020. If you registered for the event, you can view a recording of each session here until August 5, 2021. In addition, presentations provided by speakers are linked below. Due to time constraints, presenters were not able to answer all questions asked during the Q&A portion of some sessions. We were able to gather written responses to those questions from presenters. Responses can be found here. 

AGENDA

9:00 – 9:45:  INTRODUCTION AND OPENING KEYNOTE

Speakers:

    • Michael Manser, Senior Research Scientist, Texas A&M Transportation Institute 
    • Michael Chacon, Traffic Safety Division Director, Texas Department of Transportation

9:50 – 10:45:  BREAKOUT SESSION #1: 

Using the Strategic Highway Safety Plan to Guide Pedestrian Safety Initiatives
This session will provide background information on the purpose and development of the Strategic Highway Safety Plan. Join us to hear an overview of the creation of the SHSP and details about the pedestrian safety emphasis area. The session will include an interactive activity to engage SHSP Pedestrian Emphasis Area Team members in next steps to update the plan. 

Speakers: 

The Road to Zero: How the National Safety Council is Supporting Local Pedestrian Safety Initiatives 
The National Safety Council supports a wide range of pedestrian safety initiatives through a variety of grant opportunities as part of the council’s mission to achieve zero roadway deaths by the year 2050. This session will provide an overview of NSC’s Road to Zero Plan, the council’s grant opportunities, and share two pedestrian safety projects that were funded through NSC grants. 

Speakers: 

Safety in the Public Realm
Ensuring safety and comfort in our public spaces is more than just physical design improvements, and includes making sure users are safe from sexual and physical harassment, racial profiling, and policing. The perceptions and realities of safety for pedestrians are discordant when compared across race, gender, age, and ability, and societal forces often influence a user’s experience in a space. Join us as speakers from Asakura Robinson talk about harassment and equity implications of pedestrian’s use of public space. This session will ask participants to confront the behaviors that impact pedestrians in every city and town in Texas.

Speakers: 

10:45 – 11:00:  BREAK  

11:00 – 11:55:  BREAKOUT SESSION #2: 

Rail Crossings and Pedestrian Safety
The number of Texans that are killed or seriously injured crossing railroad tracks continues to grow. This session will provide an overview of what the Federal Rail Administration, Texas Operation Lifesavers, and others are doing to combat this issue, including outreach and education activities, data analysis, coordination with rail operators, and funding opportunities for nonprofit organizations.  

Speakers:  

    • Carolyn Cook, Senior Crossing and Trespass Prevention Regional Manager for the Southwest-Region, Federal Rail Administration 
    • Jessica Devorsky, Executive Director, Texas Operation Lifesavers 
    • Lt. Cheryl Southwell, Houston Police Department 

Developing a Framework for an Equitable Prioritization and Implementation of Pedestrian Safety Improvements in Fort Worth
Join us to hear details about how transportation planners from the City of Forth Worth developed a framework for prioritizing and implementing pedestrian safety improvements. Speakers will share their experiences determining how to prioritize and rank pedestrian safety improvements, with an emphasis on ensuring an equitable approach to improving pedestrian safety.

Speakers:  

Pedestrian Safety Countermeasures that Work
There are various approaches to street design as well as countermeasures that improve pedestrian safety—but what are the right approaches for your community? This session will discuss context sensitive solutions to pedestrian safety design and countermeasures from a range of community sizes and types. In addition, we will hear about some of the latest research on pedestrian safety during night-time conditions. 

Speakers: 

11:55 – 1:00:  BREAK FOR LUNCH 

1:00 – 1:55:  KEYNOTE ADDRESS 

Introductory Keynote: Utilizing a Safe Systems Approach to Improving Pedestrian Safety
Robert Wunderlich is the Director for the Center for Transportation Safety at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Mr. Wunderlich will provide an overview of the Safe Systems approach to transportation and how it can be applied to improve safety for pedestrians. 

Speaker: 

    • Safe Systems Approach: Robert Wunderlich, Director, Center for Transportation Safety at Texas A&M Transportation Institute 

Keynote: Unwelcome Trends in Pedestrian Fatalities: What the Data Tell Us About the Problem and Opportunities to Address It
Richard Retting has more than 30 years of traffic engineering and research experience and is a widely recognized expert in the field of traffic safety. Currently, Mr. Retting is a National Practice Leader for Safety and Research at Sam Schwartz Engineering. Mr. Retting will provide insight into what data tells us about the current trends in pedestrian fatalities and how we might address them in the future. 

Speaker: 

2:00 – 2:55:  BREAKOUT SESSION #3: 

Vehicle Innovations Contributing to Pedestrian Safety
As the automotive industry makes technological leaps and bounds, much research is being conducted to determine the implications of these innovations on pedestrian safety. Join us as experts discuss innovations that are improving pedestrian safety in the automobile industry.  

Speakers: 

Texas Cities: Pedestrian Safety Planning and Projects
Transportation safety professionals in the State of Texas have been making impressive strides towards improving pedestrian safety throughout the state. This session will highlight some of the successful initiatives from the past year, and provide an opportunity for attendees to hear about lessons learned and discuss future pedestrian safety activities.

Speakers: 

    • Vision Zero Houston: Lauren Grove, Transportation Planner, City of Houston
    • Brian Smith, Transportation Planner, City of Houston 
    • Lewis Leff, Transportation Safety Officer, City of Austin 
    • Dallas Pedestrian Projects Update: Kathryn Rush, Chief Planner, City of Dallas

Connecting Crash and Injury Data to Improve Pedestrian Safety 
Researchers at the Texas Department of State Health (DSHS) have been working with NHTSA for the past 5 years to connect various databases, including the Crash Record Information System (CRIS), EMS and emergency room data to better understand the extent of injury associated with transportation crashes in Texas. Presenters from DSHS will share their work on the Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES).  

Speakers: 

2:55 – 3:10:  BREAK  

3:10 – 4:05:  BREAKOUT SESSION #4: 

Walking in the Big Easy: How New Orleans is Improving Pedestrian Safety 
Join planners and experts from the New Orleans Regional Planning Organization as they discuss the pedestrian safety issues facing their community and the innovative ways that they are addressing these issues.  

Speakers: 

Understanding how Public Health Data Can Inform Transportation Decision Making 
Public health professionals from Dell Children’s and Dell Seton will talk about how public health data, such as data included in the trauma registry, can be used to improve pedestrian safety outcomes and better understand the issues facing pedestrians today.  

Speakers: 

National Perspectives on Pedestrian Safety
This session will feature speakers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and the National Safety Council. Join us to hear more about what these organizations are doing to improve pedestrian safety throughout the United States.  

Speakers: