Building on Past Success, Roanoke, VA Prepares for Bicycle Safety Campaign
Since 2020, the City of Roanoke has received grants from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to create citywide traffic safety campaigns with the goal of raising awareness of Virginia laws and reducing dangerous driving behaviors. Alta has supported each campaign, helping the City deliver campaigns focused on school zone safety, reducing speeding and speed-related crashes, and reinforcing that every corner is a crosswalk.
This year, Alta is supporting the City of Roanoke with the launch of a citywide bicycle safety campaign. This campaign will be taking place from June 12 to July 21, 2023, and it aims to achieve two important goals: reduce the number of car/bicycle collisions in Roanoke, and increase awareness of Virginia’s “change lanes to pass” law that requires drivers to change lanes to give at least 3 feet of space when passing a cyclist.
How is the campaign increasing awareness of these laws?
The Change Lanes to Pass campaign includes a number of elements including paid media, earned media, and community engagement — all aimed at amplifying awareness about the campaign. Moreover, the campaign’s community engagement efforts include an ambassador program that encourages community members to participate and assist in expanding the campaign’s reach to a broader audience.
While the primary campaign message aims to increase awareness of the law, Alta developed an interactive digital game focused on deepening participants’ understanding of how the law applies to real-life scenarios in the City of Roanoke. Anyone who lives or drives in the City of Roanoke will be encouraged to play the game. Once completed, they receive a sharable safety badge to show off their accomplishments and spread the word about the campaign through their personal social media platforms.
How we know it’s working
Based on quantitative and qualitative analysis of previous year’s campaigns, we know the campaigns are making a difference. For instance, surveys show that knowledge of the Virginia law that every intersection is a crosswalk whether it is painted or not increased by 12 percent, and there was nearly a 5 percent increase in public awareness of problems associated with speeding. This year’s effort aims to build off past success to create safer and more enjoyable roads for all Virginians.
Learn more about the Roanoke Pedestrian Safety campaign, and see other examples of Alta’s Programs and Campaigns in action here. If you’d like to follow along for monthly updates, join our newsletter.
