Hours after a police officer struck and killed a bicyclist in northeast Houston, law enforcement and transportation officials on Wednesday announced a regional collaboration aimed at reducing pedestrian and bicycle fatalities.

“There has to be a public outcry that we can avoid this,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at the Wednesday afternoon kickoff at Houston TranStar. “We need a better road safety culture in our community.”

Houston Police, the sheriff’s office, Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Department of Transportation used the kickoff to announce a series of public education campaigns and increased enforcement in the hopes of cutting down on automobile crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists.

Advocates for vulnerable road users applauded the effort, but said much more is needed across a broad range of solutions.

“It is good to see safety campaigns directed at the public,” said Clark Martinson, executive director of BikeHouston. “It is also essential that fleet drivers are in tune to the needs of vulnerable road users, too.”

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Though the number of fatal incidents involving pedestrians and cyclists has dropped since 2016, they remain at crisis levels, officials said, as more people walk or bike in the region for recreation or commuting.

Houston Police found themselves on both sides of the issue Wednesday, with Assistant Chief Henry Gaw spending late Tuesday and early Wednesday responding to questions about a police officer who struck and killed a bicyclist Tuesday night on Wayside Drive. The officer was responding to a report of a suicide in progress — without lights and sirens activated — when the police cruiser struck with a passing bicyclist at Birmingham Street, near the Trinity Gardens neighborhood.

Wednesday afternoon, Gaw was among the officials urging drivers and pedestrians to take caution, noting most incidents were caused by a failure to control speed or inattention by pedestrians or drivers. Cell phone use is especially problematic, he said.

“Stay off of these devices and give your full attention to driving,” he said.

To spread the message, officials and agencies will use signs and posters developed by TxDOT, which is funding a statewide traffic safety program, urging drivers to always expect a pedestrian. Ten Metro buses have been outfitted with a public service ad campaign, showing a person with a tire tread across their face and the message “Pedestrians don’t come with airbags.”

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In addition, the Texas DPS will be “saturating the roadways” with increased highway patrols in these the last three months of the year, said Sgt. Richard Standifer. He noted one of the most common dangers is caused when someone becomes a pedestrian on the freeway after leaving a stranded or broken-down vehicle.

The outreach campaign comes as the Houston region faces contrary road safety trends involving vulnerable roads users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and those using wheelchairs for travel.

Pedestrian deaths in the TxDOT Houston region, which includes Harris County and all adjoining counties except Chambers, declined annually from 2016 to 2018, peaking at 183 before falling to 139 last year, according to the state’s crash reporting system. About half of the decline occurred in Houston, where pedestrian deaths dropped from 83 in 2016 to 63 last year.

So far in 2019, there have been 113 pedestrian deaths in the Houston region according to the crash system, which typically lags a month or two behind in logging all fatalities. That puts the region on track for a tally similar to that of 2018.

For bicycle fatalities, however, the story is different. With 12 weeks to go, 2019 already is the deadliest year for bike riders in the region’s history, with 22 deaths this year, according to the reporting system. The previous high was 21 in 2017.

The current official total does not include the Tuesday night fatality, which still is under investigation by Houston Police.

Safety messages have become an annual ritual, but increased in the past year following a Houston Chronicle investigation that found the region was the deadliest major metro area for roadway fatalities in the nation. Since then, Gonzalez has focused greater resources on vehicle safety, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner signed an executive order telling city departments to develop plans for eliminating roadway deaths by 2030, and TxDOT officials in Austin approved a plan to cut Texas roadway fatalities in half by 2035 and eliminate them by 2050.

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Some of those efforts already have led to changes. Houston identified its 12 most problematic intersections and worked with community groups and the Federal Highway Administration to suggest improvements, some of which quickly were completed while others await funding. Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis has committed money to developing bike lanes along some key corridors, including Jensen Drive northeast of the central business district and along Cleburne near the Texas Southern University campus.

More, however, is needed, said Oni Blair, executive director of the advocacy group LINK Houston, which worked with Houston officials on the intersection study. She said pedestrian and bicyclist deaths remain “alarmingly high” despite the pleas and projects from officials, which demonstrates a need for more police enforcement.

“This includes investigating the crash and holding accountable those who are responsible, including law enforcement officials, for the injuries and fatalities,” Blair said. “Investigations are also important to help determine what’s needed to make the intersection or corridor better. Even improving street lighting throughout the city can help people who walk, bike, or roll see better and be more visible.”

Gonzalez agreed, noting “too often I am at scenes where lighting was a factor.”

He said enforcement, engineering and education all need more attention, calling for slower streets via speed bumps, better driver training and more resources to catch and prosecute drunk drivers.

“All of those things are things we need to take more seriously in this region,” he said.