The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) employs over 200 safety techs, also known as crossing guards. These safety techs help children and other pedestrians safely navigate streets near schools. The role is demanding and requires physical and mental stamina. When safety techs leave, DDOT needs to manage staff shortages. Yet, many safety techs have remained in their positions for five years or more. This long tenure in a part-time and seasonal job demonstrates deep commitment to their communities. The Lab and DDOT want to learn from this. They have partnered with the George Washington University Corcoran School of Art & Design. Together, they will develop solutions to strengthen this essential workforce.
Safety tech experience map. (Photo Credit: David Andrews for DDOT)
Why is this issue important in DC?
Safety techs serve as vigilant eyes on the street. They guide students and other pedestrians and report unsafe driver behavior. These reports inform traffic calming efforts and longer-term safety planning. They also identify hazardous street conditions and promote helmet and seatbelt use. DDOT prioritizes high-risk intersections near schools for safety-tech coverage. DDOT examines intersection crash history, pedestrian volumes, and equity considerations like whether a neighborhood has been historically underserved or experienced disinvestment. When staffing gaps occur, critical crossings can go unprotected. This puts children at greater risk. In the DC metro area, that risk is growing. In fact, pedestrians account for over one-third of all traffic fatalities in DC.1
What are we doing?
We are partnering with the Corcoran School’s Engagement Lab course. The Engagement Lab gives students hands-on experience using design to solve real-world challenges.
The students are exploring the day-to-day experience of safety techs. They are working in three teams to observe safety techs at their posts in different wards. They are also interviewing DDOT staff and mapping their insights. In November, they led workshops with safety techs, community members, and school representatives. These workshops explored the safety tech job experience and examined school zone dynamics.
What have we learned?
Each Corcoran student group synthesized insights from the fall semester and developed a set of design strategy recommendations. These recommendations outline a path for addressing safety tech retention (check out their presentations).
What comes next?
The DDOT leadership team will review all student proposals and will select one to move into prototyping and testing in Spring 2026. This project complements other DDOT efforts to improve safety tech retention and attendance. These include a buddy system for new hires, a one-day onboarding event to speed up hiring, and summer training sessions that give safety techs extra paid hours while school is out. Managers also work with other agencies to find extra work opportunities.
What happened behind the scenes?
DDOT surveyed safety techs about their job satisfaction. Nearly half said that giving back to their community is why they’ve stayed in their jobs. More than 75% rated their assigned school and the people as the things they like most about their current post.
1 Pedestrian Safety | Vision Zero DC. Accessed December 2025.