Operation Lifesaver awards 11 grants to transit agencies for “See Tracks? Think Train!” campaigns
Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), is awarding $162,500 in grant funds for public awareness and safety education projects involving 11 transit agencies across the United States.
The local transit agencies and state Operation Lifesaver programs will work together to produce educational projects featuring the OLI safety campaign slogan, “See Tracks? Think Train!” The ongoing campaign’s message is that whether driving or walking, when people see tracks, they should use caution and be alert for approaching trains. The campaign will increase public awareness of transit surroundings and help people pay attention in potentially dangerous situations.
“These grants assist local agencies with their educational safety campaigns and are important for reaching drivers, pedestrians and transit riders in their own communities,” said OLI President and Chief Executive Officer Joyce Rose. “We want to thank the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) for helping us promote the availability of the funds and we especially want to thank the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for providing the funding.”
The winning agencies selected to receive a share of the funding include the Sacramento Regional Transit District in Sacramento, Calif.; the city of Atlanta in Atlanta, Ga.; Rio Metro Regional Transit District in Albuquerque, N.M.; Illinois Operation Lifesaver/Metra in the greater Chicago, Ill., area; Dallas Area Rapid Transit in Dallas, Texas; New Jersey Transit in the greater Newark, N.J., area; Bi-State Development Agency in the greater St. Louis, Mo., area; Forth Worth Transportation Authority in Ft. Worth, Texas; Ohio Operation Lifesaver/Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in Cleveland, Ohio; Utah Transit Authority in the greater Salt Lake City, Utah area and Phoenix Valley Metro in Phoenix, Ariz.
The winning transit agencies will use their funds to undertake safety public awareness and education campaigns. The grants range between $7,500 and $20,000 and require each agency to provide a 25 percent match. The educational campaigns must use OLI-approved materials and logos and be coordinated through a state OL program. A team of U.S. Department of Transportation and APTA safety and education professionals evaluated the applications based on criteria, such as key safety messages and target audiences, evaluation methods and timelines.
Materials will be developed this fall and the creative safety campaigns will launch by spring 2015.
