Santa Rosa’s bicycle/pedestrian safety program was honored this month by the state for excellence.

Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Doug Schlief, coordinator for the program, said the Police Department conducts a variety of education and outreach efforts on bicycle and pedestrian safety, such as bike rodeos, pedestrian safety talks for senior citizens, safety presentations at schools, free bike helmets for children in some cases and information booths at the Tour of California and GranFondo bike races.

He said the program, which begins its fourth year next month, was prompted when officers realized a few years ago that collisions involving bicyclists and those involving pedestrians weren’t declining. The department pulled together a program proposal and submitted it to the state Office of Traffic Safety for grant money, which was awarded.

He said the grant allows the department to provide the program with two full-time staffers — community outreach specialist Tricia Consani and senior administrative assistant Fei Gage — and to pay for some assistance from the Sonoma County Bicycling Coalition.

The award was presented Sept. 9 at the CHP headquarters in Sacramento by the CHP and the Office of Traffic Safety as part of the 2009 California Law Enforcement Challenge.