White Cane Safety Day, celebrated on October 15 each year, is an important part of National Pedestrian Safety Month. Learn more on our White Cane Safety Day page.
October is National Pedestrian Safety Month, a time to raise awareness about pedestrian safety for everyone, including people who are blind or low vision. Everyone is a pedestrian some of the time, whether they walk to work every day or just walk to the little market on the corner occasionally. Pedestrian safety is important to every Wisconsinite, but it is especially critical for the 31% of state residents who do not drive.
National Pedestrian Safety Month was launched in 2020 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as an ongoing effort to make our communities safer for those who travel on foot. In 2022, 7,522 pedestrians were killed and 67,000 injured in crashes across the country. In Wisconsin that same year, 72 pedestrians were killed in crashes, the most in the state in at least two decades. We encourage everyone to talk with their local leaders about ways to make their communities safer and more welcoming for pedestrians.
The Council recognizes and participates in Pedestrian Safety Month and White Cane Safety Day every year through events, presentations and calls for local action. However, our action on these issues is not limited to October. We work year-round with local, state and national officials and transportation leaders to make our communities safer for everyone.
What Can Communities Do?
There are a number of steps communities can take to make their streets safer for pedestrians. Here are a few:
ACCESSIBLE PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS
• Accessible pedestrian signals are activated by the pedestrian, giving them some control in a situation where most factors are out of their hands. Accessible pedestrian signals include those at signalized intersections, like a traffic light, and rapidly flashing beacons.
• Rapidly flashing beacons at intersections without a traffic light provide audio and tactile feedback informing the pedestrian that the signal is activated, while flashing lights alert drivers that somebody is attempting to cross the street.
• Accessible pedestrian signals at signalized intersections provide audible information that includes the street name and whether or not it is safe to begin crossing.
SIDEWALKS
• Roadways without sidewalks are more than twice as likely to have pedestrian crashes as locations with sidewalks on both sides.
• Sidewalks should be present on both sides of the street.
• Sidewalks connect people and places, providing safer pedestrian routes to the most common destinations.
CURB RAMPS
• Curb ramps provide a safe transition from the sidewalk into the street when crossing while helping align the pedestrian with the crosswalk.
• Effective curb ramps contrast in color to the sidewalk and street and contain tactile warning fields to provide tactile feedback.
• Ramps should be in place at all corners of the intersection.
Recent Council Articles on Pedestrian Safety
Related Events
- White Cane Safety Day – October 15, 2024
- Week Without Driving – September 30 – October 6, 2024
