U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater Announces Community Forums on Safety, Quality of Life |
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Topics: Rodney E. Slater
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NHTSA
November 17, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DOT 189-99
Wednesday, November 17, 1999
Contact: OST, Bill Adams, (202) 366-5580
U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today announced a series of regional community building forums focusing on safety issues and livable communities. They will take place in New York; Denver; Seattle; Boston; Kansas City, Mo.; Houston; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Philadelphia; and Chicago before the end of February 2000.
"These community forums will help advance President Clinton's and Vice President Gore's comprehensive livability agenda to help communities across America grow in ways that ensure a high quality of life and strong, sustainable economic growth," Secretary Slater said. "Safety begins in our communities, and these forums will be an especially effective opportunity to improve safety, our highest transportation priority."
An expected outcome from each forum is an action plan to address transportation safety and livability issues in communities in each region. Secretary Slater made a commitment to host the forums during the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Transportation Safety Conference in Washington in March 1999.
The first of the 11 forums in the series took place Oct. 19 in Atlanta, where regional and community leaders, interested groups, and transportation officials focused on pedestrian safety as a result of a rash of pedestrian fatalities there.
Participants, including Gloria Jeff (deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, representing Secretary Slater) and Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell as well as other key federal, state and local officials, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a framework for cooperation and action. That memorandum outlines four areas of concentration: driver and pedestrian education, improved engineering, city planning and enforcement of pedestrian and driver laws. The specific goal of the Atlanta memorandum and pedestrian forum was to save lives and reduce the number of pedestrian injuries.
In conjunction with the forum, Georgia underscored the strength of the local commitment to safety by announcing its Drive Civilized Georgia campaign, a statewide public information and enforcement effort.
The U.S. Department of Transportation holds that walking instead of driving has strong beneficial community effects such as improved air quality, increased mobility, better physical health and reduced vehicular traffic.
A list of upcoming community forums and their topics follows:
| Moderator1 | City | Date | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelley Coyner, Administrator, Research and Special Programs Administration | New York (Queens) | Nov. 17, 1999 | "Community Building Forum on Transportation Safety" |
| Ken Wykle, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration | Denver | Dec. 09, 1999 | Safe Transportation; Livable Communities; Welfare to Work; Job Access; Diversity |
| Adm. James Loy, Commandant, U. S. Coast Guard | Boston | Jan. 18, 2000 | Recreational Boating; Rail Grade Crossing; Truck Safety; Aviation Issues; Traffic Safety; Diversity |
| Gene Conti, Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Policy | Kansas City (Blue Springs), Mo. | Jan. 20, 2000 | Safe Communities; Congestion; Interface w feds; Strategic Planning; Mobility; Diversity |
| Nancy McFadden, General Counsel, U.S. Department of Transportation, and Clyde Hart, Administrator, Maritime Administration | Seattle | Jan. 18, 2000 | Environmental issues; Aggressive Driving; Mobility; Recreational Boating; Diversity |
| Jolene M. Molitoris, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration | Houston | Jan. 27, 2000 | Truck Safety; Bicycle Safety; Environmental Issues; Rail Grade Crossing; Livable Communities; Diversity |
| Jane Garvey, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration | San Francisco | Feb. 08, 2000 | Mobility; Congestion; Smart Growth; Commuter Choice; Diversity |
| Nuria Fernandez, Acting Administrator, Federal Transit Administration | Philadelphia | Feb. 17, 2000 | "The Philadelphia Region: Livable Communities Through Safe Transportation" |
| Kelley Coyner | Los Angeles | Date to be determined | Transit Funding; Congestion; Aviation issues; Diversity |
| Jerry Malone, Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Transportation, and Al Jacquez, Administrator, St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation | Chicago | Date to be determined | Recreational Boating, Pedestrian/Bicycle Safety, Commuter Choice, Safety Education, and Diversity |
1 Gloria Jeff, Deputy Administrator of the department's Federal Highway Administration, was the moderator of the Oct. 10, 1999 Atlanta forum entitled "Protecting Our Pedestrians Through Safe and Livable Communities."