Photo Credit: Tauschia Copeland, Peace Corps   “Vehicles are respecting the crosswalks a little more everyday, but what is better, citizens are asking vehicles to stop at the crosswalks,” said Peace Corps Volunteer, Tauschia Copeland.

Crosswalks Improve Safety for Community

A world away from her native Seattle, Washington, Peace Corps Volunteer, Tauschia Copeland, took up the cause of pedestrian safety in the small community of Gramsh, in central Albania, adding white, zebra-striped crosswalks onto the once blank streets of the city.

With the support of USAID’s Small Project Assistance program, Peace Corps Volunteers like Copeland, in partnership with Albanian non-governmental and community organizations, design and implement small-scale projects to support sustainable, grassroots community development activities through community grants, capacity-building and other forms of collaboration.

Working in partnership with the local police, schools, and community leaders in Gramsh, Copeland identified areas where children typically traverse the roads for school and created a leaflet to inform citizens of the lawful use and reasoning for crosswalks.  Copeland trained teachers and student leaders on pedestrian safety and many have begun to incorporate the information in lessons for middle school classes.  Municipality workers, teachers and students volunteered to paint the cross walks and an event was help to mark the first Gramsh Pedestrian Safety Community Day.

Bringing the school, community, and the municipality together for a common goal was a rewarding experience for Copeland and created a model that can be used for future projects for the city.

“Vehicles are respecting the crosswalks a little more everyday,” said Copeland, “[B]ut what is better, citizens are asking vehicles to stop at the crosswalks.