The PLACE Program has received multiple rounds of
Caltrans Active Transportation Program grants to develop
pedestrian plans for the unincorporated Los Angeles
County communities. We work with community members to
identify significant barriers to walking and needed
infrastructure enhancements to improve connectivity in
each community's pedestrian network, reduce the
potential for pedestrian-related collisions, and
identify solutions to other barriers to walking such as
crime and violence. Visit
StepByStepLACounty.com for more information about
this work.
Traffic collisions are on the rise in unincorporated Los Angeles County. Between 2013 and 2017, fatal collisions
increased nearly 28 percent. Three hundred eighty-three
(383) people lost their lives during that 5-year period.
Each year, on average, over 80 people are killed each
year in traffic collisions with more than 500 severely
injured on roadways the County maintains. To address
this public health threat, the County of Los Angeles
developed
Vision Zero Los Angeles County: A Plan for
Safer Roadways, which was adopted by the Board of
Supervisors in August 2020, to guide a new traffic
safety initiative focused on eliminating traffic-related
deaths on unincorporated County roadways by 2035. Please
visit
the County's Vision Zero site to learn more.
Trees are an essential part of the urban environment and
contribute positively to climate control, storm water
collection, air quality, and the mental and physical
health of the community. PLACE works together with
County partners to develop holistic strategies for
preserving, maintaining, and expanding LA County's urban
forest in low income, tree-poor neighborhoods, working
in collaboration with community partners and youth
leadership groups.
Please visit our Urban Forestry page
to learn more.
In 2014, the Los Angeles County Department of Public
Health's Division of Chronic Disease and Injury
Prevention received funding from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention to support implementation of
strategies to prevent obesity, diabetes, heart disease
and stroke in the City of Los Angeles. With funding
support from this program, PLACE collaborated with the
Los Angeles Departments of Transportation, City
Planning, and the Mayor's Office to implement
transportation plans and policies that encourage
physical activity and increase the safety and comfort of
people walking. This strategy supports
Vision Zero in
Los Angeles, an initiative aiming to eliminate traffic
fatalities by 2025 through policies, programs, and built
environment interventions. As part of the implementation
of the initiative, a Transportation and Health Database
and an online,
interactive GIS viewer
were developed that house data on health outcomes and
behaviors, travel patterns, collisions, streetscape
design, crime, and other determinants. The database will
be used to identify neighborhood needs and inform
transportation plans.
To encourage monitoring of active transportation in LA
County, the Los Angeles County Department of Public
Health PLACE Program purchased automated equipment for
counting bicyclists and pedestrians. In 2013, PLACE
established a counter lending program for PLACE grantees
and technical assistance recipients. The count data
informs the development of active transportation plans,
grant applications, and regional data collection efforts
and models.
To date baseline counts have been conducted in the
cities of Carson, Cudahy, El Monte, Monterey Park, San
Gabriel, and South El Monte. Below are links to reports
on these counts:
Data collected by past grantees and technical assistant
recipients is available through the
SCAG Active
Transportation Database. PLACE may make the equipment
available to other cities depending on need and
availability. Please contact Justin Robertson at
jrobertson@ph.lacounty.gov for more information about this
program or to schedule a free training on how to
organize and conduct manual bicycle and pedestrian
counts.
Between 2008 and 2014, the PLACE Program funded jurisdictions and
non-profit organizations to work on built environment
planning, policy, and programs through several rounds of
grants.
