AARP Commends CT Representative Esty for Co-Sponsoring Safe Streets Act

AARP Connecticut commends U.S. Representative Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) for her leadership to make roads safer for all users by cosponsoring The Safe Streets Act, HR 2071, which was reintroduced in the House today. As a part of its efforts to make certain federal transportation infrastructure investments provide safe travel for all, AARP fully supports this important, bipartisan legislation and urges Congress to include it in its rewrite of the surface transportation bill.

AARP Connecticut staff and volunteers are in Washington D.C. this week to meet with Esty and other members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation on issues including the Safe Streets Act, Financial Conflicts of Interest, the Older Americans Act, the Assisting Caregivers Today (ACT) caucus and Social Security.

“Every two hours, a pedestrian gets killed in a traffic crash, and one in five is someone age 65 or older,” said Jo Ann Jenkins, AARP CEO. “T he Safe Streets Act would save lives by ensuring that the design of roads and crosswalks allow American families, especially older drivers and pedestrians, to travel to and arrive at their destination in a safer manner.”

The Safe Streets approach ensures that projects are built right the first time and would require minimal or no additional spending. State and regional planners and traffic engineers would consider the needs of all users, so that roadways and intersections include features to improve safety—such as sidewalks, proper crosswalk signal timing and bicycle lanes—as is found appropriate for each community. More than 700 jurisdictions, including 30 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have adopted Safe Streets policies.

Planners would have two years to adopt “Complete Streets” policies that take the safety needs of all roadway users into account during the design, planning, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, maintenance and operating phases of transportation projects. The policy would apply to federally-funded new and reconstructed projects.

For more information, please visit www.aarp.org.