Meet Takoma Park’s New Advocate for Pedestrian Safety
Takoma Park’s new special projects coordinator says she is excited to support the city in becoming more walkable for its residents, especially children walking to and from school.
Kaysi-Ann Webley began working for the city in June and hit the ground running to make walking in the city safer.
“It bugs me to no end when I see children walking and looking at their phones and not paying attention to traffic,” she says. “I want to do something to improve that.”
Webley says she already conducted several “walk audits” near schools, with the involvement of school staff, PTA members and other city staff. These audits looked at traffic conditions, street signs, sidewalks and other areas that could use improvements.
“We walk on the same routes that children will take to school and see what traffic is like, what the street crossings look like and see if any changes need to be implemented to make it safer,” she says. “That’s the main goal to make it safer for children to get to school whether walking, riding or rolling.”
She says they’ve already seen a few places where improvements could be made so people are safer.
“There are a few areas that we noticed that some work needs to be done,” she says. “Whether the sidewalks would benefit from
being widened or are overgrown, or reevaluating a crossing. I want to understand the unique challenges schools are having to keep children safe as they walk or bike to school and help them improve.”
To keep improving on the city’s walkability, the city conducts a survey of parents in the fall and spring to help better understand how children commute in the mornings and afternoon.
“That will give us a baseline for how our children get to school,” she says. “It gives us a lot of data on how to implement these programs and gives parents support so they feel good about having their children walk to school.”
Another way to bring focus on walking to school safely is the city’s annual Safe Routes to School Day, held this year on Wednesday, October 4, which gets children and their parents out to walk or bike to school.
“The simple act of choosing to walk to school instead of drive contributes so much to our goals of reducing traffic congestion
and emissions and providing built in exercise for the students and parents,” says Webley.
She says there are plenty of other advantages to walking to school too, including increased attentiveness and confidence. Webley says she hopes to have a lot of participation in the event and that it encourages growth in walking over the school year.
Webley says her own interest in street safety stems partially from her 3-year-old son who she teaches to be safe near roads. She says he’s already learning about road signs, is developing a keen sense of direction and can tell when they are close to home.
“We want to make the whole roadways safe for our children, not just for today, but tomorrow and into the future. We always want to keep improving.”
Webley, who lives in Washington, D.C., just a few blocks from the Takoma Park border, has a background in civil engineering and real estate and says she loves to dance and has been since she was 3 years old.
“I’m looking forward to meeting and talking with the parents and getting feedback from them,” she says. “I’m excited to get parents and students out walking or riding and being active.”
If you’d like to volunteer for Safe Routes to School, email kaysiw@takomaparkmd.gov. For more information, visit the City Safe Routes to School Webpage.
