PRESS RELEASE
Arlington, Texas) – As the region continues to improve roadway and rail infrastructure, it is important for pedestrian safety to remain a priority.
The Federal Highway Administration has designated Texas and the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth as pedestrian and bicycle focus areas, due to the high ratio of pedestrian-related crashes and fatalities. The Regional Transportation Council has made safety a key emphasis area as it helps develop a transportation system that serves the needs of the growing Dallas-Fort Worth area.
North Texans can also make the region safer for pedestrians. The North Central Texas Council of Governments and Texas Department of Transportation are asking residents to participate in a pedestrian survey to help with the development of policies and programs that will boost safety throughout the region. The survey seeks input on barriers to walking, areas that could be improved and priorities that could boost safety for pedestrians in Dallas-Fort Worth.
The survey will be available through July 5 at
dfwpedestriansafety.metroquest.com. Participants who complete the survey will be entered in a drawing to receive one of two $100 cash cards.
Results will assist NCTCOG as it designs a pedestrian safety plan that can be shared with cities seeking to make infrastructure safer for walking. Improvements may include better sidewalk access, enhanced lighting at intersections and more complete routes to bus and rail stations.
This regional plan will establish a vision for improving safety, examining existing conditions and using data to make the appropriate safety improvements to address specific needs.
NCTCOG and its partners are working to improve walkability through safety campaigns and planning studies to pinpoint where improvements should be made. For example, Look Out Texans is a regional safety campaign that encourages motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians to share the roads. Learn more about this campaign at
www.lookouttexans.org.
Additionally, NCTCOG is coordinating with school districts to help them make decisions that promote bicycling and walking to school. NCTCOG is also currently studying the DART Red and Blue Lines to determine how best to improve sidewalk connections to bus stops and rail stations.
More information about the pedestrian safety project can be found at
www.nctcog.org/pedsafetyplan.
About the North Central Texas Council of Governments:
NCTCOG is a voluntary association of local governments established in 1966 to assist local governments in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit and coordinating for sound regional development. NCTCOG's purpose is to strengthen both the individual and collective power of local governments and to help them recognize regional opportunities, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and make joint decisions. NCTCOG serves a 16-county region of North Central Texas, which is centered on the two urban centers of Dallas and Fort Worth. Currently, NCTCOG has 238 member governments including 16 counties, 169 cities, 22 school districts and 31 special districts. For more information on the Transportation Department, visit
www.nctcog.org/trans.
About the Regional Transportation Council:
The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) of the North Central Texas Council of Governments has served as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for regional transportation planning in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 1974. The MPO works in cooperation with the region’s transportation providers to address the complex transportation needs of the rapidly growing metropolitan area. The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant and Wise counties. The RTC’s 44 members include local elected or appointed officials from the metropolitan area and representatives from each of the area’s transportation providers. More information can be found at
www.nctcog.org.
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