Salinas elementary schools get a lesson in safer walking.

A line of cars glimmers in the sunlight every weekday around 2:40pm as dozens of parents wait for their kids at Fremont Elementary School. Cars often back up past the school’s loading zone on East Market Street, and some parents double park or leave their cars unattended for a few moments to greet their kids. That might be a well-intentioned thing to do, but officials say parents are creating a pedestrian traffic hazard.

Salinas has a bad record when it comes to pedestrian-related injuries and deaths. In 2015, there were 55 pedestrian-related injuries, and in 2013, Salinas ranked the sixth worst out of 56 similar California cities in bicycle injuries and fatalities, according to the Monterey County Health Department.

After a pedestrian sting operation in August, Salinas Police Sgt. Gerry Ross said, “Crossing the street was actually a bit frightening at times. There were a few times that cars zoomed by me, within 3 to 5 feet, at 45 to 55 mph.”

Just six weeks ago, on Oct. 25, 17-year-old Gabriela Baes was killed by a speeding motorcyclist while walking – in the crosswalk – across North Main Street.

While the lack of pedestrian-friendly infrastructure is part of the problem, the public’s unfamiliarity with basic pedestrian and bicycle precautions also plays a role. The Health Department is taking steps to address the latter, starting by teaching the youngest of pedestrians.

On Nov. 21, the Health Department kicked off the Safe Travels Via Salinas program with the first public workshop on basic pedestrian safety. The program, funded by a $192,521 grant from the California Office of Transportation Safety, will focus on education at three Salinas elementary schools: Sherwood, Los Padres and Fremont.

One goal of the grant is safer and smarter pedestrians. Another goal is more pedestrians. Most students at Sherwood, Los Padres and Fremont live within a mile of school, roughly a 20-minute walk.

“Any program that alleviates traffic congestion is welcome in our school district,” says Marcos Cabrera, spokesperson for the Alisal Union Elementary School District, which includes Fremont Elementary. He’s hopeful STVS will encourage more kids to walk, and safely: “Student safety is a priority for us.”

Christabell Oropeza, the Health Department’s public health program manager, envisions partnerships with eco-friendly commute advocates like nonprofits Safe Moves and Ecology Action. A couple times a year, partners would build bike “rodeos,” obstacle courses with simulated traffic situations like distracted drivers or vehicles backing out of driveways, to be set up in school playgrounds. The interactive course is designed for second – through fifth-graders.

For first-graders and younger, the Health Department will send a representative to parent meetings to talk about things like “walking school buses,” or organized parent-led walks to and from school with small groups of students. “Parents are already informally practicing this,” Oropeza says, “but we want to make sure they can get informed and get organized to do it at least once a week.”