The region’s twice-yearly Street Smart pedestrian and bicyclist safety campaign kicked off Monday, April 11, at the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center in Silver Spring. The center is a major new transit hub serving pedestrians, bicyclists, bus riders, and Metro and MARC rail passengers.

Elected officials, representatives from Metro, law enforcement, transportation officials, and a resident who survived a crash all spoke at the event about the importance of traffic safety and that following traffic safety rules is everyone’s responsibility.

Twice a year the TPB along with its member jurisdictions work with law enforcement to raise awareness of the importance of safely using the streets. This year the safety campaign has added older faces. These new faces reminds drivers to pay attention to older pedestrians who may move more slowly.

“Every Metro rider is a pedestrian at some point in their journey,” said Robert Potts, Metro’s Assistant General Manager for Metrobus Services. “We work to keep customers safe during every part of their trip, and that includes their ways to and from our rail stations and bus stops.”

In addition to the safety messages, regional law enforcement will increase their efforts to identify and ticket drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists who break traffic safety laws. New this year: members of the press have been invited to observe crosswalk stings in Prince George’s County, Fairfax, Arlington, and the District of Columbia. Street Smart organizers hope this will raise further awareness of the stepped-up enforcement efforts.

Learn more about Street Smart.