RALEIGH – Three new communities will soon benefit from participation in Watch for Me NC, a comprehensive pedestrian and bicycle safety program aimed at reducing bicycle and pedestrian crashes and fatalities in North Carolina.
Now in its eighth year, the Watch for Me NC program provides training for law enforcement officers on ways to improve safety for road users in their areas. Communities also will receive technical assistance, materials and purchased media promotion such as radio advertisements to bring attention to driver awareness and pedestrian and bicycle safety.
“It’s great to see so many communities making a commitment to keep cyclists, pedestrians and drivers safe,” said Mark Ezzell, director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “The Watch for Me NC program partners with those communities to accomplish this goal by providing valuable training, partnerships and resources to improve public safety and overall quality of life.”
The program leverages the strengths of law enforcement and public education to encourage safe and secure places to walk and bike.
This year’s new partners are:
- Davidson (Mecklenburg)
- Kannapolis (Cabarrus)
- Kinston (Lenoir)
The new partners join 15 returning communities, which include:
- Apex (Wake)
- Beaufort (Carteret)
- Carrboro (Orange)
- Chapel Hill (Orange)
- Cornelius (Mecklenburg)
- East Carolina University (Pitt)
- Elizabeth City (Pasquotank)
- Forest City (Rutherford)
- Fuquay-Varina (Wake)
- Greenville (Pitt)
- Kill Devil Hills (Dare)
- Pine Knoll Shores (Carteret)
- Shelby (Cleveland)
- Sparta (Alleghany)
- Wendell (Wake)
The 2021 program is supported by the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program.
The UNC Highway Safety Research Center provides technical support with program implementation and evaluation. For more information about the program, visit Watch for Me NC’s website.