Evaluating pedestrian safety programmes Attachment C <br />Attachment B <br />5.2 Advocating for pedestrian safety <br />Even a locally tailored evidence-based plan of action is not a guarantee of lasting <br />results once implemented. The natural order of many institutions is to resist change. <br />When change is required to bring about greater equity and justice, considerable <br />pressure may be needed to effect that change, especially when the issue or group in <br />question traditionally has been overlooked. Advocacy or pressure groups can be key <br />to creating conditions that foster policy and programme change (see Box 5.3). Advo- <br />cacy seeks to raise awareness of an issue for the purpose of influencing the policies, <br />programmes and resources devoted to it (8). <br />BOX 5.3: Living Streets <br />In 1929, a group of people became concerned about <br />the rising tide of automobile use and the associated <br />rise in deaths of people walking in the UK. They <br />decided to take action and form the Pedestrians <br />Association, which became Living Streets in <br />2001. This group has been the national voice for <br />pedestrians in the UK throughout its history. In the <br />early years, their campaigning led to the introduction <br />of the driving test, zebra crossings, and 50 km/h <br />speed limits. Today, they influence decision-makers <br />nationally and locally, run projects to encourage <br />people to walk, and work to create safe, attractive <br />and enjoyable streets, where people want to walk. <br />They have local groups throughout the country, and <br />they get more than 1.6 million children involved in <br />their 'Walk to School' campaign each year. <br />Advocacy for pedestrian safety takes many forms including (y): <br />. urging public officials to change policies, plans, and projects to be more <br />accommodating to pedestrian safety and travel; <br />. promoting the importance of safe walking and creating broader demand for safe, <br />walkable communities (see Box 5.4); <br />. providing expertise for the benefit of communities; <br />. urging community leaders or public officials to narrow streets, install walk signals <br />and widen sidewalks; <br />. sponsoring neighbourhood walks to introduce the public to the benefits and joys <br />of walking; <br />. testifying at hearings; and <br />. demonstrating in the streets to raise awareness of unsafe pedestrian walking routes. <br />102 <br />Page 248 <br />