Traffic safety advocates are touting the passage of a pair of bills they say will help to prevent traffic fatalities on public roads and particularly around schools.

The measures received intensified public scrutiny and comment this session following the 16-year-old Sara Yara, who was fatally struck by a car as she was walking in a marked crosswalk near McKinley High School.

House Bill 300 reforms the state Department of Transportation’s existing Safe Routes to School program to account for changes in funding and scope and establishes a Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee to develop a comprehensive, statewide plan for improving traffic safety for pedestrians near schools. It also calls for state highway funds to be deposited into a special fund for the program.

As stated in the bill, “Decades of automobile‑centric planning and development have created formidable barriers to safety for keiki and kupuna on our roads. These barriers include a lack of complete, safe, and comfortable bicycle and pedestrian networks; burdensome and complicated funding mechanisms for safe routes to school programs and community engagement; a lack of a state safe routes to school plan that creates performance measures, goals, strategies, and accountability; and a lack of coordinated safe routes to school promotion among state and county agencies and community-based organizations.”

Senate Bill 1086 amends the duties of the State Highway Safety Council to reflect the adoption of long-term state goals like zero-emissions vehicles and clean transportation infrastructure. The renamed State Highway Safety and Modernization Council will grow by two positions, appointed by each the Senate president and speaker of the House.

“These bills represent a critical step forward towards safer communities for all of our residents and visitors,” said state Rep. Chris Todd, chair of the House Committee on Transportation. “We all deserve safer roads and walkways, and I am very excited that the legislature has taken a stand for pedestrian and commuter safety.”

To date, there have been 25 traffic fatalities in Oahu and numerous collisions resulting in serious or critical injuries to pedestrians. On Friday, a 20-year-old woman, who was standing in a shoulder lane on the H-3 Freeway, was critically injured when she was struck by a passing vehicle. Police are still looking for the driver, who fled the scene.

“Hawaii has seen record fatalities on our streets, and these measures will make a serious and significant investment in rebuilding our roads, crosswalks, sidewalks and bike lanes,” said Sen. Chris Lee, chair of the Senate transportation committee. “This will better separate cars from people, give kids and kupuna safer ways to get around and ultimately, save lives.”

Both bills passed unanimously and now head to the governor for final approval.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.