Our Work

The PLACE Program has received multiple rounds of Caltrans Active Transportation Program grants to develop pedestrian plans for the unincorporated Los Angeles County communities. We work with community members to identify significant barriers to walking and needed infrastructure enhancements to improve connectivity in each community's pedestrian network, reduce the potential for pedestrian-related collisions, and identify solutions to other barriers to walking such as crime and violence. Visit StepByStepLACounty.com for more information about this work.

Traffic collisions are on the rise in unincorporated Los Angeles County. Between 2013 and 2017, fatal collisions increased nearly 28 percent. Three hundred eighty-three (383) people lost their lives during that 5-year period. Each year, on average, over 80 people are killed each year in traffic collisions with more than 500 severely injured on roadways the County maintains. To address this public health threat, the County of Los Angeles developed Vision Zero Los Angeles County: A Plan for Safer Roadways, which was adopted by the Board of Supervisors in August 2020, to guide a new traffic safety initiative focused on eliminating traffic-related deaths on unincorporated County roadways by 2035. Please visit the County's Vision Zero site to learn more.

Trees are an essential part of the urban environment and contribute positively to climate control, storm water collection, air quality, and the mental and physical health of the community. PLACE works together with County partners to develop holistic strategies for preserving, maintaining, and expanding LA County's urban forest in low income, tree-poor neighborhoods, working in collaboration with community partners and youth leadership groups. Please visit our Urban Forestry page to learn more.

In 2014, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support implementation of strategies to prevent obesity, diabetes, heart disease and stroke in the City of Los Angeles. With funding support from this program, PLACE collaborated with the Los Angeles Departments of Transportation, City Planning, and the Mayor's Office to implement transportation plans and policies that encourage physical activity and increase the safety and comfort of people walking. This strategy supports Vision Zero in Los Angeles, an initiative aiming to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2025 through policies, programs, and built environment interventions. As part of the implementation of the initiative, a Transportation and Health Database and an online, interactive GIS viewer were developed that house data on health outcomes and behaviors, travel patterns, collisions, streetscape design, crime, and other determinants. The database will be used to identify neighborhood needs and inform transportation plans.

To encourage monitoring of active transportation in LA County, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health PLACE Program purchased automated equipment for counting bicyclists and pedestrians. In 2013, PLACE established a counter lending program for PLACE grantees and technical assistance recipients. The count data informs the development of active transportation plans, grant applications, and regional data collection efforts and models.

To date baseline counts have been conducted in the cities of Carson, Cudahy, El Monte, Monterey Park, San Gabriel, and South El Monte. Below are links to reports on these counts:

• City of Carson Bicycle and Pedestrian Count Report
• City of Cudahy Bicycle and Pedestrian Count Report
• San Gabriel Valley Bicycle and Pedestrian Count Report

Data collected by past grantees and technical assistant recipients is available through the SCAG Active Transportation Database. PLACE may make the equipment available to other cities depending on need and availability. Please contact Justin Robertson at jrobertson@ph.lacounty.gov for more information about this program or to schedule a free training on how to organize and conduct manual bicycle and pedestrian counts.

Between 2008 and 2014, the PLACE Program funded jurisdictions and non-profit organizations to work on built environment planning, policy, and programs through several rounds of grants.

• Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Initiative (2012-2014)
• Project RENEW (2010-2012)
• PLACE Grants (2008-2011)