OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Safer roads don’t happen by accident. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of local leaders, planners, and first responders, Marion County is gaining recognition for putting safety first—making everyday travel safer for families, students, and commuters alike.

On May 9, the Ocala/Marion County Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and Marion County were honored at the Central Florida Safety Summit for their work on the Safety Matters Initiative, a community-focused effort aimed at reducing crashes and saving lives.

“They decided a couple of years ago that they wanted to bring together nine counties in Central Florida and focus on safety, leadership, elected officials, engineers, planners, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and to bring everyone together,” said Rob Balmes, director of the Ocala/Marion County TPO. “Part of it is to focus in on a strategic plan that they developed. They want to see that plan continue to live on, look for opportunities to learn from each other, share best practices, and highlight a lot of good things that have been happening.”

The summit brought together nearly 250 attendees from across the region. It provided an opportunity for collaboration, idea-sharing, and celebrating innovative safety efforts. Like last year, the event also included an awards segment to recognize communities making strides in traffic and public safety.

“One of those is a public outreach award, and they gave that to the TPO along with Marion County,” said Balmes. “We’re working together on the Safety Matters Initiative. It’s a real collaborative effort. We’re happy to get it (the award), not expecting to receive anything.”

The event took place in a conference room at the Daytona International Speedway. Commissioner Michelle Stone represented Marion County and presented during the summit, where counties were invited to share updates on their local safety initiatives. Marion County’s Safety Matters video series was featured as part of the presentation.

“The commissioner showed a little bit of a sampling from the first video,” said Balmes. “It was very well-received, and an hour or so later, they gave us an award for that type of effort. We were surprised because we were only halfway through that series. We’re appreciative of being recognized.”

The sixth video in the series is expected to be released in the near future.

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