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Injury Prevention & Active Transportation
Everyone should be able to walk, bike, or roll to get around—for their health and clean air—without fear of getting seriously hurt.
Road design affects health. Streets built for speed, not safety, lead to more crashes, with walkers, bikers, and those outside of cars at the highest risk for serious injury or death. In Contra Costa, 4 out of 10 people seriously hurt or killed in crashes are bicyclists or pedestrians. Many areas lack safe sidewalks, protected bike lanes, connected paths, and inviting parks, making it harder for people to stay active and increasing the risk of health problems like diabetes and heart disease.
The Building Healthy Communities Program works to prevent serious injuries on roads and support active ways of getting around—like walking, biking, or rolling—to help everyone stay healthy. The program does this by:
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Providing Safe Routes to School programs that teach kids and teens how to walk and bike safely, and encourage them to become leaders in promoting active transportation.
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Sharing resources with residents and local partners to support safe walking, biking, and rolling.
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Sharing a public health point of view with local city planners and engineers to inform how neighborhoods are built, how people get around, and how to make streets safer.
The Building Healthy Communities Program is working toward a future in Contra Costa County where:
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Every neighborhood is planned and built with health, safety, and climate change in mind.
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Communities that have been left out in the past get more support and have a strong voice in decisions about improvements.
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Walking, biking, and rolling are safe, easy, and fun for everyone.
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No one is seriously hurt or killed in traffic crashes—no matter how they travel.
For more information, please contact: buildinghealthycommunities@cchealth.org