Montgomery County Launches ‘Lessons from La Abuelina’ Campaign to Help Drivers and Pedestrians Safely Navigate New Crosswalk Devices

Per Montgomery County: The Emmy award-winning campaign “La Abuelina” is joining the Vision Zero Initiative’s pedestrian safety team to educate residents throughout July and August about how to safely navigate the newly installed pedestrian hybrid beacons (PHBs) located across the Montgomery County. After the animated character “La Abuelina” was used to urge Spanish speaking residents to get COVID-19 vaccinations, she will now be featured in English and Spanish social media posts and pop-up events located at PHBs to help explain how the traffic control devices offer extra protection to drivers and people walking, biking and rolling across the street.

“La Abuelina’ was created during COVID-19 and was a great way to communicate with our Spanish speaking communities about prevention, testing and vaccinations,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “The campaign helped achieve high testing and vaccination rates and earned national and international media recognition. Due to this success, I requested her character be copyrighted by the County and used in other important public health and safety messaging. I am glad that she will now be a part of our Vision Zero efforts to promote pedestrian safety on our roads. With this new campaign, Abuelina is helping spread the word about new pedestrian hybrid beacons, so our

residents know how and when to safely cross.”

Upcoming events will take place at the following locations while additional activities are posted on the campaign website.

• Saturday, July 29, Noon- 4 p.m., Plaza del Mercado, 2211 Bel Pre Road, Silver Spring
• Wednesday, August 2, 4-8 p.m., Aspen Hill Shopping Center, 13661 Connecticut Avenue, Silver Spring
• Saturday, August 5, Noon – 4 p.m., Aspen Hill Shopping Center, 13661 Connecticut Avenue, Silver Spring

A PHB is a traffic control device used at mid-block crosswalks or intersections to provide a safer crossing for pedestrians. It differs from a pre-timed traffic signal or flashing beacon because it remains inactive or “dark” until a pedestrian who wants to cross a street pushes the call button to activate the beacon. Once activated, the PHB initiates a yellow to red lighting sequence of flashing and steady lights that directs motorists to slow and come to a stop, thereby providing right-of-way to the pedestrian to cross the roadway before going dark again.

“Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons are an attractive and cost-effective option to meet pedestrian safety needs, typically at mid-block crossings or where traffic or pedestrian volumes are too low to warrant a standard traffic signal,” said Chris Conklin, director of the County’s Department of Transportation. “When looking at locations for the beacons, we consider the volume of pedestrian traffic, the type of roadway, traffic speeds and sight lines. We have recently installed about ten of them in the County and have another ten planned.”

Vision Zero is Montgomery County’s initiative to eliminate all roadway-related fatalities and serious injuries and was adopted by the County for its proven methods for saving lives. At Vision Zero’s core is the ethical principle that it is unacceptable for people to be killed or seriously injured when moving within the transportation system. The people that design, maintain, operate, and use the roadway network share a responsibility for safety to ensure that mistakes do not result in serious injuries or death.

“Last year Montgomery County had 566 crashes involving a pedestrian or bicyclist. Tragically, 19 residents were killed. This is why I introduced the Safe Streets Act, to make more of our roads safer for all users,” said County Council President Evan Glass, who also serves as chair of the Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee. “With 17 percent of our County’s population speaking Spanish at home, and an over representation among the Latino community for motor vehicle crashes – 85 percent higher among the Latino population — culturally competent traffic safety messaging is imperative to saving lives.”

“La Abuelina Family and the COVID-19 Vaccine” was produced by Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services’ Latino Health Initiative to encourage Latinos to take charge of their health and make well-informed decisions in response to COVID-19. The “La Abuelina” communications campaign, part of the County’s  Por Nuestra Salud y Bienestar (For Our Health and Wellbeing) initiative, received a local Emmy Award in June from the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) for the third consecutive year. The campaign’s television PSAs have garnered more than 10 million views in the Greater Washington area since first airing in fall 2020.

“PHBs give people walking and biking the power to stop traffic with the push of a button,” said Vision Zero coordinator Wade Holland. “Because these devices are new to Maryland, there can be confusion for walkers and drivers about safely navigating through the crossing. ‘La Abuelina’ will enhance our existing outreach with memorable and fun messages, so all our residents feel confident about safely activating and crossing a crosswalk with a PHB.”

For more information on the “La Abuelina” pedestrian safety campaign, visit the campaign website.