SALISBURY, Md.- The City of Salisbury has teamed up with Salisbury University to initiate a youth ambassador program aimed at enhancing transportation safety. The initiative will train and equip youth ambassadors, who will primarily serve as part-time and temporary city staff, to promote safe walking, biking, scooting and other forms of micro-mobility in the Salisbury area.
The program will develop, implement and evaluate a comprehensive student transportation safety curriculum. This curriculum is designed to teach practical skills, such as safe riding techniques, bike and scooter maintenance and hands-on learning sessions. Outreach efforts will include dedicated training sessions and guided "bike buses," where groups of children ride to school under adult supervision, demonstrating safe navigation from home to school.
According to the Governor's Highway Safety Association, pedestrian deaths dropped 4 percent in the first half of 2023. However deaths of people walking remain 14 percent above the pre-pandemic level, GHSA’s analysis of January-June data finds.
Part-time and temporary city staff ambassadors will train high school students to become safety ambassadors. These trained high school students will then educate their peers and middle school students. The university says the program aims to create a supportive environment where students can learn, connect, and collaborate, fostering a culture of transportation safety among young people.
Additionally, the city plans to hire one high school student over the summer to conduct outreach in a disadvantaged high school community through a summer youth work program. This effort will provide role models close in age to their audience.
"With this opportunity from the Governors Highway Safety Association and the National Road Safety Foundation, in partnership with the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office, we will be able to directly educate the youth," said Transportation Manager Jon Wilson. "We will help ensure their safety on the implemented and growing cycle network so they can navigate their city safely."
The program will culminate in a major back-to-school event in the fall of 2024, focusing primarily on elementary and middle school youth. The exact age range of participants will depend on the willingness of school principals to participate.