In an effort to promote walking and active transportation among community residents, the City of El Cajon partnered with local non-profit Circulate San Diego to create the Be Safe, El Cajon campaign. Be Safe, El Cajon focuses on different ways to make people of all ages more comfortable to choose to walk, bike and use public transportation.

Recognizing that walking is an integral part of a healthy, sustainable and livable community, Be Safe, El Cajon raises awareness and promotes safe and enjoyable walking environments for all residents in many different ways. The Be Safe, El Cajon campaign hosted several outreach events, including the Walk This Way program that educated and engaged 86 children from grades 1-5 about personal safety, road safety, safe walking habits and highlights of best practices to being safe on the road. Kids had the opportunity to practice their safety skills in a simulated city known as Safe Town, where they get to make real-time decisions on how to respond to safety and traffic dangers. As a result of the program, participating families left more knowledgeable about safety and rules of the road.

Residents of El Cajon were also able to participate in El Cajon Walks!, a Meetup group hosted by Circulate San Diego to show that walking can be safe, fun and healthy. The group, created for people of all abilities interested in exploring El Cajon, helped increase resident participation and the visibility of pedestrians to cars and other modes of transportation. Mapped El Cajon Walking routes can be found here.

Circulate San Diego also coordinated four Transit Use Trainings in El Cajon to support and encourage residents to utilize multimodal systems of transportation. Community members were provided with information designed to help people learning English feel more comfortable using public transportation. Trainers provided a guided experience that taught community members how to read transit maps and time tables, plan a trip, and purchase a ticket and transfer between vehicles - all vital components to building community confidence on how to use the transit system. 

The Be Safe, El Cajon Campaign has taken a multifaceted approach to raising awareness of safe and enjoyable walking environments for all residents in El Cajon. For more information, contact Lorena Cordova at lcordova@CityofElCajon.us.