(1888PressRelease)
April 28, 2007 - John Z Wetmore, host of the "Perils For Pedestrians" television series, opens the program with an interview with Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. Anderson has made pedestrian safety a central part of his transportation policy for the city. Innovations such as orange crosswalk flags and pedestrian countdown signals initially met with skepticism, but have since been embraced by the public. Salt Lake City was named the most improved city for pedestrian safety by the Surface Transportation Policy Project. Pedestrian safety is just one aspect of the mayor's plans to make Salt Lake City "walkable".
Shortly after he became mayor, Anderson witnessed the aftermath of a hit-and-run driver. The second interview is with David Long in Springfield, Missouri. Long also witnessed the aftermath of a hit-and-run crash. He was inspired to create a website dedicated to the victims of hit-and-run drivers, www.deadlyroads.com . Because they are much more vulnerable than vehicle occupants, pedestrians are the majority of hit-and-run victims.
Wetmore then travels to Columbia, Missouri, to talk with two organizers of Columbia's Acitve Living partnership. Among their projects are a Walking School Bus program and "Bike, Walk, and Wheel Week".
Finally, Wetmore returns to Salt Lake City to meet Lisa Romney, bicyclist and author of a magazine column, "Minx in the City". The Minx is a hot pink leopard print beach cruiser that gets Romney around the city. Her most memorable column?: "Minx Goes on a Date".
Perils For Pedestrians" is a public affairs television series that looks at problems confronting pedestrians and bicyclists in their communities, and solutions to those problems from across the United States, and around the world. John Z Wetmore, host of the series, has interviewed advocates, engineers, planners, and public officials in all 50 states and in 9 foreign countries. In addition to The Universityhouse Channel on satellite, "Perils For Pedestrians" appears on over 100 public access cable channels.
Episode 108 can also be seen on Google Video at:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7138678939449427638
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