By Craig Lazzeretti

Managing Editor

Monday, October 10 (9:15 a.m.): Lynn Carruthers has dedicated much of the past two years to the cause of pedestrian safety in Rossmoor. Following a series of tragic accidents, including one that took the life of a resident, Carruthers’ group, Neighbors for Safer Streets, has pounded the pavement of Rossmoor’s roadways to educate pedestrians and drivers alike on the dos and don’ts of traversing the community safely. But after observing two pedestrians walking with (instead of against) traffic one morning this summer, she knew more work needed to be done. Hence, the brainchild for Rossmoor’s first Pedestrian Safety Awareness Month (PSAM) in October.

The monthlong campaign is inspired by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Pedestrian Safety Month, celebrated each October. Rossmoor’s iteration this month – a collaboration among GRF, the city of Walnut Creek, Walnut Creek police and Neighbors – will feature a potpourri of activities and materials, including speaker events, news articles, information tables and banners highlighting the campaign (see schedule accompanying this article).

“I’ve learned over the years that people learn differently and absorb information differently,” said Carruthers, explaining the variety of efforts that will take place throughout the month.

The campaign also is getting a boost through the support of the Rossmoor Fund, Rossmoor Rotary, the Rossmoor Activities Council, Rossmoor Realty and Securitas.

The timing couldn’t be better, with shorter days and the upcoming “fallback” time change meaning more pedestrians out and about when it’s dark.

“Do your part to make yourself more visible to vehicles, and drivers should be more mindful for pedestrians,” said Public Safety Manager Tom Cashion, who worked closely with Carruthers on the campaign.

The campaign offers an opportunity to remind pedestrians of the value of wearing bright colors (high-visibility green vests are particularly recommended) whenever possible, as well as the importance of using the orange flags at crosswalks. Cashion asks that residents who see flags missing from one side of the crosswalk transfer some from the other side when possible.

He’s also evaluating recommendations for additional flags at busy intersections and exploring the possibility of purchasing reflective flags to create greater visibility. When walking at night, he suggests that pedestrians turn on their cellphone flashlight to make drivers aware of their presence.

The issue of pedestrian safety has never been more timely, especially for people in Rossmoor’s age demographic. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 7,522 pedestrians were killed throughout the United States in 2022, the highest total since 1981.

That total included Rossmoor resident Curtis Gunn, who was killed April 16, 2022, when a vehicle driven by a drunk resident struck him and his wife on Tice Creek Drive while they were walking home from Gateway.

Statistics show that fatal pedestrian accidents disproportionately involve people in older age groups.

“We don’t see as well as we used to, and our hearing is not as good as it used to be,” Carruthers said. “We don’t turn our necks as well as we used to.”

She added that because of tripping fears, older residents are more likely to look at the ground while walking, and therefore less able to spot an oncoming vehicle.

And when older pedestrians are struck by vehicles, they tend to suffer poorer outcomes because of their increased fragility.

Since the Gunn tragedy – and other pedestrian accidents that resulted in serious injuries that year – GRF has taken a number of steps to make Rossmoor safer for walkers. Pedestrian safety projects along Tice Creek Drive, as well as Golden Rain Road at Oakmont Way, resulted in a host of new safety features, including permanent speed-reading devices; high-visibility crosswalk signs with arrows; “shark teeth” yield line markers in front of crosswalks; adding red no-parking paint to curbs at crosswalks to increase visibility; and new signage informing motorists of traffic laws.

While such capital investments can enhance safety, the responsibility ultimately lies with motorists and pedestrians to maintain it – a point that Carruthers and Cashion hope to drive home this month.

“We want to draw everyone’s attention to this being National Safety Month in an effort to make our community even safer,” Cashion said. “This is our community. We all live or work here, and we all have to do our part to look after each other.”