Mill Valley PD Granted $55k for Traffic Safety Operations

The following was submitted for publication by the Mill Valley Police Department:

The Mill Valley Police Department has been awarded a new traffic safety grant for a year-long program aimed at preventing injuries, reducing collisions and promoting both vehicle and bicycle safety on our roadways. The $55,400 grant awarded by the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to Mill Valley will aid in the city’s ongoing effort to improve traffic safety and the quality of life. New equipment purchases and special traffic enforcement measures will be instituted by the Mill Valley Police Department as part of an on-going commitment to keep our roadways safe through both enforcement and education.

Chief Bernal stated, “The core function of our Police Department is to proactively work towards making Mill Valley as safe a community as possible. This grant will provide the needed resources that will allow us to put a focused attention towards improving Traffic Safety.” This traffic safety grant includes funding for:

• Motorcycle Enforcement Operations
• Distracted Driving Phone Operations
• General Traffic Enforcement Operations
• Night-Time “Click It or Ticket Operations
• Bicycle & Pedestrian Enforcement Operations
• Traffic Education for the Public
• Training Opportunities for our Police Officers

The grant will assist in efforts to deal with traffic safety problems and to reduce the number of persons injured in traffic collisions.

The grant activities will specifically target reducing the number of injury collisions, reducing the number of motorcycle injury collisions, reducing hit and run collisions, reducing the number of intersection related and red light runner collisions, reducing collisions caused by unsafe speeds and increasing the use of seatbelts. This will be done through the use of conducting:

(4) Distracted Driving operations

(4) Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operations

(6) Traffic Enforcement operations, which include: Unsafe turning, Yield and Excessive Speed

(2) Night-time “Click-It or Ticket” operations.

(6) Bicycle & Pedestrian Enforcement Operations

(6) Traffic Safety Educational Presentations, to include three Bicycle Safety Rodeo’s at area Elementary Schools

“California’s roadways are still among the safest in the nation,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “But to meet future mobility, safety, and sustainability objectives, we must create safer roadways for all users. The Mill Valley Police Department will be using these and other resources to reach the vision we all share – Toward zero deaths, every 1 counts.”

Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.