Pedestrian safety - Global Road Safety Partnership

Pedestrian safety: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners
those that have administrative responsibility for safety. The working group should
also include members who are not convinced about the importance or desirability of
safe walking and pedestrian safety measures. The goal is to create a diverse group that
draws on varying – even opposing – perspectives and strengths. Composition of the
working group may vary depending on whether the plan will be set at the national,
provincial or municipal level.
The key stakeholders identified in the situational assessment should constitute a
core working group. Working groups function best when they are smaller, but it is
also important to develop a mechanism to facilitate involvement of as wide a group
of stakeholders as possible, even if it is just for information sharing. High-level
political commitment from the government facilitates successful implementation
of the planned activities and high-level government representation may thus be
important for the working group. Government ownership of the action plan creates
opportunities for implementation and sustainability.
What should the working group do?
The working group should define its duties early in the process, in order to increase
the effectiveness of its operations. Basic issues the group will address as soon as it is
created include identifying a coordinator, defining an operational framework for the
group, creating a management committee and specific sub-groups as necessary, and
assigning responsibilities to members.
The critical strategic duties of the working group include the following (8):
• Setting the goals and objectives of the pedestrian action plan.
• Examining data or information available and prioritizing concerns.
• Coordinating the development and possibly implementation of the
pedestrian safety action plan. In some cases the working group may be tasked
with development of the action plan but not responsibility to oversee its
implementation. In other cases the working group may be assigned responsibility
to oversee both the development and implementation of the action plan.
• Mobilizing support and resources for the pedestrian safety action plan. The working
group should design strategies for raising funds and garnering financial and human
resources to provide some working capital to undertake planned activities.
• Coordinating and integrating the action plan into government road safety,
transport and/or urban development programmes at the national and local levels.
A pedestrian safety initiative has jurisdictional, resource and infrastructural issues
that require involvement of government.
• Defining performance measures and targets for implementation.
3: Prioritizing pedestrian safety interventions and preparing a plan of action
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