SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
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Accept a University of South Florida Board of Trustees, a public body corporate for the University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Transportation Research (University), High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) for Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Grant Award in the amount of $40,000 for police overtime and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same.
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SUMMARY:
On August 30, 2016, Clearwater Police Department (CPD) was granted approval by the Resource Management Committee to submit a grant application under the state HVE program to continue its grant-funded pedestrian and bicycle safety project. The grant has been officially awarded in the amount of $40,000 and CPD now seeks approval to accept it.
CPD has conducted three grant-funded comprehensive enforcement/education projects since March 2014 aimed at changing the behavior of all who use Clearwater’s roadways- pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists. Due to the success of the previous projects, the University would like to see Clearwater build upon what it has already accomplished.
CPD will again carefully select a pool of patrol officers/sergeants for this project who have demonstrated a sincere interest and affinity for traffic, bicycle and pedestrian enforcement. The details will be worked by this select group of officers, focusing on those areas with a high volume of crashes compared to other parts of the city, have a high volume of pedestrian traffic, or both.
Details will be five hours long with three officers per detail and conducted two-three times every two weeks. The project period will commence within 30 days of issuance of a purchase order by the grantor agency and will end on or before May 15, 2017.
As with the previous grant, selected officers will receive specific training on traffic enforcement and educational opportunities with the public prior to implementation of the project. CPD will also work closely with the University during the project period to ensure accurate data collection and to advise of any problems or successes that are accomplished.
CPD will continue to get the word out about the project through a variety of means. CPD’s Public Information Officer (PIO) has done an outstanding job in working with local media sources to promote project activities and to further spread the message about pedestrian and bicycle safety and will continue to do so. The PIO will also update the public on the project by way of the department’s Facebook page, which he successfully utilizes on a regular basis to inform the public about project activities and successes.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
There will be no direct adverse impact to the Police Department annual operating budget nor is there a required match.
Special project number 181-99218, 2016 HVE Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety, will be established to account for the grant expenditures.