I love seeing drivers' faces when they realize I'm holding a radar gun and just clocked them going 20 miles per hour over the speed limit! I have the radar gun as part of a survey for the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) Injury Prevention Group. JSI is evaluating the impact of the "Walk This Way" campaign, as well as the effects of some physical and light timing changes on pedestrian and driver behaviors at targeted intersections.

Maria Rangel & Melissa Guiterrez monitor traffic in Boston

Almost a year ago JSI began working with the BPHC to evaluate the campaign, which was designed to provide safer street crossing points for pedestrians. Walk This Way was launched in 1999.

I am one of five JSI researchers conducting observations of the success of the campaign. We all love getting outside on a nice day. Each time we go out is a new adventure; one time several of the researchers were actually reported to the police for "suspicious behavior" while standing in front of a bank. The store owners across the street thought the JSI researchers were going to rob the bank with the laser gun!

We will track our observations and report our findings back to the BPHC. Our study uses the original baseline survey design created by researchers at the University of Massachusetts in Boston to ensure that comparisons of pre- and post-intervention results are reliable and valid, an important aspect of any evaluation design.

This is one of several hands-on observation surveys I've been involved with since I joined JSI. I find it fascinating to monitor and track everyday sorts of events—like the use of pedestrian crossings—and study the effects of new initiatives and safety precautions to learn how they impact health.

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