Monday, February 11, 2008

Thoughts on Trail Safety

Reasons why police call the Katy Trail “the safest place in Dallas”
1. the sheer number of users makes the Trail a de-facto crime watch
2. the number of incidents on the Trail is lower than almost anywhere in Dallas
3. in a survey of trail users, more than 90 percent said it was safe

The Friends of the Katy Trail is making the trail safer by doing five things:
1. installing lighting
2. installing emergency location signage
3. using membership to pay for off-duty DPD bike patrols to augment scheduled police patrols
4. establishing a Volunteers in Patrols (VIP) program
5. studying safety options under the direction of Safety Chair Rick Anderssen, who is head of the Dallas Police Reserves

Safety tips from the Friends of the Katy Trail:
1. travel with a buddy
2. don’t go on the trail after dark – the trail is a park and is closed
3. keep your iPod volume at a level where you can carry on a conversation with a buddy
4. be alert and aware of your surroundings
5. be aware of your location

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a business providing self-defense items to those in need. I have specific devices for runners.

I am also a member of the Guardian Angels. We have been patrolling Lower Greenville but could make ourselves available to patrol specific areas of the trail, if necessary, perhaps Reverchon Park. We could also assist on your March 1st cleanup of Reverchon.

I take security and personal safety very seriously. Please, let me know if I can be of assistance in either way.

Dennis Burns

Anonymous said...

Apparently I have not mastered the profile portion of the blog. Therefore, I am providing my contact information in the text of this message.

Dennis Burns
dennis@backoffselfdefense.com
www.backoffselfdefense.com

The Director of Operations for the Dallas Chapter of the Guardian Angels is Raphael Arrenondo. He can be contacted at:

dallas@guardianangels.org