|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The California Office of Traffic Safety awarded a $70,000 grant to the Atherton Police Department to support programs meant to reduce serious injuries and deaths, the department announced Tuesday.
“We are grateful to receive this grant, which will strengthen our traffic enforcement efforts and improve road safety,” Atherton police Cmdr. Daniel Larsen said in a statement.
The Atherton Police Department has made traffic enforcement a priority, especially after a garbage truck hit-and-killed coach Dylan Taylor, who was on a bicycle in a bike lane.
“When we say we’re increasing enforcement, it doesn’t mean we’re out there writing ticket after ticket,” Larsen said at the time. “It’s more about increasing visibility and educating motorists and cyclists.”
According to the department, the grant will help fund DUI checkpoints and patrols, high-visibility distracted-driving enforcement, and operations targeting violations that present the biggest risks to pedestrians and cyclists. It will also support focused enforcement on top causes of crashes, including speeding, failure to yield, stop-sign and red-light violations, and improper turns or lane changes.
The department has conducted similar enforcement operations in the past.
In March, the department conducted a “crosswalk safety emphasis” operation with the Redwood City Police Department and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office to ensure motorists yielded to pedestrians when crossing El Camino Real at Selby Lane. During the operation, plainclothes Atherton staff members crossed El Camino Real at a marked crosswalk. When vehicles did not stop for pedestrians, marked police units wrote citations and educated the drivers.
In the 2.5-hour operation, 72 motorists were issued citations for crosswalk violations.
The funding will also support community education programs on traffic-safety topics such as impaired and distracted driving, bicycle and pedestrian safety, speeding and other risky behaviors. That outreach includes bicycle rodeos and presentations at community events.
The grant additionally provides training and recertification opportunities for officers, including standardized field sobriety test procedures, advanced roadside impaired driving enforcement and drug recognition expert coursework.
The grant, which was awarded by the Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will fund enforcement and education programs through September 2026.
Joan Lane, trailblazing volunteer and Stanford’s go-to for ‘sticky problems,' dies at 97March 25, 2026 3:23 pm