While roundabouts have been shown, in certain situations, to reduce fatal and severe injury crashes when compared to traditional signalized intersections, their impact on pedestrian safety is not fully understood.  This report from Minnesota Department of Transportation and the University of Minnesota investigates pedestrian travel and safety using observations of the interactions between pedestrians and bicyclists and motor vehicles at two modern urban roundabouts in Minnesota.   The report also calculated pedestrian delay at the roundabouts as pedestrians waited either for gaps in traffic or for motor vehicle drivers to yield.

The New York City Department of Transportation has released a report that proposes new metrics for measuring the overall success of streets, discusses key approaches to street design projects and how these approaches can meet safety goals, serve all users, create great public spaces, and maintain traffic flow.

An at-grade crossing of the Prairie Path over the Canadian National Railroad (CN) in Elmhurst, near South Prospect Avenue, has been improved and made safer with the addition of crossing gates and realignment of the trail.  Visit the DuPage County Bikeways and Trails webpage for more information on this, as well as other, projects.

Reconnecting America has released the report, “Are We There Yet? Creating Complete Communities for 21st Century America.”  The report tracks progress in regions across the country in implementing complete streets policies and programs.

The report identifies a series of metrics and ranking criteria to measure regions’ progress toward creating more "complete communities."

A new report by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP, Synthesis Report 436), “Local Policies and Practices That Support Safe Pedestrian Environments,” documents various tools and strategies used by municipalities to improve the safety, convenience, and accessibility of the pedestrian experience.

The research approach involved a review of literature and telephone as well as in-person interviews with key staff in local agencies that have implemented policies and practices to support pedestrian-friendly environments. The report includes an overview of recent and current practices undertaken throughout the country in various settings, along with four detailed case studies (New York City, New York; Charlotte, North Carolina; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Olympia, Washington).

The practices are categorized by:

1. Public right-of-way engineering and design guidelines.
2. Architectural and urban design guidelines.
3. Planning and land development regulations.
4. Financing mechanisms.
5. Operations, maintenance, and enforcement measures.

The American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership have collaborated to produce “Promoting Active Transportation: An Opportunity for Public Health.”  The guide is intended to give an overview of why and how health should be considered in transportation planning and decision-making and the role that active transportation can play in helping reduce rates of obesity and physical inactivity.

On November 10, 2012 from 8:45 a.m. to 12:00 noon, the Chicago Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities partnership is hosting a Regional Park Zones Summit on November 10, 2012 at the Nature Room of the Humboldt Park Boat House (1400 North Sacramento Avenue, Chicago).  Anyone in the region who’s interested in learning more about Park Zones and their implementation is welcome to attend.

This summit will highlight efforts in Chicago and suburban municipalities to make parks and trails more safe and accessible, especially through traffic-calming infrastructure improvements.  Public administrators, planners, and professionals in the Chicago metropolitan area will have an opportunity to share and learn from others’ experiences implementing park zones.

The event is free but attendees should RSVP to Andres Alvear (andres@activetrans.org or 312-427-3325 x 296).

America Walks, in collaboration with Sam Schwartz Engineering, has released a guide to creating walkable communities, “Steps to a Walkable Community: A Guide for Citizens, Planners, and Engineers.”  The guide is a compendium of innovative and multidisciplinary tools, ideas, and tactics that have been used to improve conditions for and to encourage more walking in communities around the country.  The guide is available as a PDF download for free, although providing contact information is required.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has released a comprehensive report entitled “Sharing the Road: Optimizing Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety and Vehicle Mobility,” which reviews roadway improvements designed to enhance bicyclist, pedestrian, and motorist safety and mobility.  The report includes an analysis of bicycle and pedestrian crashes in the state of Michigan; a review of national design guidelines on methods to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety; a case study analysis of recently completed improvements in the state of Michigan; an analysis of existing guides and manuals that influence the design of roadways in the Michigan and other states; and finally, a set of recommended best design practices for walking and bicycling  The report was prepared by T.Y. Lin International and Western Michigan University (WMU).

The report finds the following countermeasures were associated with the greatest reductions in crashes:

• Sidewalksreduce pedestrian crashes by 88%, while adding shoulders reduce pedestrian crashes by 70%
• Roundaboutsshow an overall decrease in all types of crashes by 35%, injury crashes by 76% and fatal crashes by 89%
• Road dietsreduce all crashes anywhere from 14% to 49%.
• Raised mediansreduce all crashes by 40%, and by as much as 69% at unsignalized intersections
• Pedestrian hybrid beaconswere shown to have a 69% reduction in all crashes and a compliance rate of motorists yielding to pedestrians between 94-99%
• Bike lanescan reduce bicycle crashes by 50%

Along with Illinois and twelve other states, Maryland has recently enacted a traffic law requiring motor vehicles to pass bicyclists at a distance three feet or more.  A new study in the journal, Accident Analysis & Prevention, seeks to assess compliance with the law in Baltimore.  Through the use of video cameras mounted on cyclists, the study  measures the distance between motor vehicles and cyclists during passing maneuvres.  The authors find that significant numbers of drivers do not observe the three-foot passing law, especially on roadways without bikeway markings of any kind.  However, where bicycle lanes were present, no passes of three feet or less occurred on roadways.

The full text of the article is available for download for $41.95.

A new report summarizes results of an evaluation of the Sound Transit Remote Infrared Audible Sign (RIAS) system in guiding persons with disabilities in multi-modal public transportation environments. The RIAS Model Accessibility Program (RIAS MAP) is an ongoing program funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to evaluate the effectiveness of remote infrared audible sign systems in enabling persons with visual mobility and cognitive disabilities to travel safely on their own.

The report presents test results on the effectiveness of the Sound Transit RIAS system for persons with visual or cognitive disabilities and cost-benefit analysis on future expansion of the RIAS system versus other wayfinding systems.

For a report summary, visit the FTA website.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a report providing implementation guidance on strategies and methods to prevent pedestrian incidents, injuries, and fatalities at or near passenger rail stations.  The report recommends that passenger rail operators use risk-based hazard analysis methods to identify methods and treatments to improve pedestrian safety at rail crossings.  The report provides illustrations of many of these treatments.  See our earlier post on the draft document.

A new report by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) reviews the ways in which transportation systems can impact people with disabilities and argues for equity and the consideration of all individuals, including the disabled, when developing transportation policy, infrastructure, and operations.  The reports recommendations fall under four categories: funding, programs, livability provisions, and enforcement.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has released the fourth edition of its Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities, last published in 1999.

According to AASHTO, the guide “provides information on how to accommodate bicycle travel and operations in most riding environments. It is intended to present sound guidelines that result in facilities that meet the needs of bicyclists and other highway users. Sufficient flexibility is permitted to encourage designs that are sensitive to local context and incorporate the needs of bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.”

The guide is currently available for pre-order through AASHTO and is expected to ship in early June. The new edition of guide will also be available as a download. 

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) will host a free webinar on raised median islands and pedestrian safety on May 30 from noon to 1:30 p.m. CT.  The webinar will discuss design considerations for raised median islands, address barriers to implementing these countermeasures, and present case studies of agencies that have been using these treatments to improve pedestrian safety.  Presentations will be by Charlie Zegeer (UNC Highway Safety Research Center), Sheila Lyons (Oregon DOT), Gary Sokolow (Florida DOT), and Jack Ecklund (City of University Place).  Advance registration is required and for more information, visit the PBIC website.

The Mineta Transportation Institute has released a report that evaluates literature related to the risks associated with cycling, and explores case studies regarding bicycle safety.

The report gives an overview of the risks associated with cycling to emphasize the need for safety.  The report uses the framework of the 5 Es—engineering, education, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation—to organize a literature review, with particular attention to engineering and education.

The report includes case studies on bicycle safety programs and projects from San Jose (education), Berkeley (engineering and evaluation), Davis (engineering, education, and enforcement), and Portland (the education and encouragement efforts of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance).

The City of Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has released a before and after report with data demonstrating that implementation of a road diet (on Nickerson Street, completed in August 2010) resulted in improved safety for all users. According SDOT, the project, completed in August 2010, reduced collisions by 23 percent, helped prevent speeding, and did not result in traffic diversion to other streets.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed an online resource, the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for walking and cycling.  The tool estimates the economic savings resulting from reductions in mortality as a consequence of regular cycling and/or walking. Simply put, HEAT calculates an answer to the following question: "If x number of people cycle or walk y distance on most days, what is the economic value of mortality rate improvements?"  While default parameters are set for the European context, they can be adapted to various situations.

The American Heart Association (AHA) is offering funding through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant to support ongoing public policy change campaigns that address childhood obesity, including programs that "increase physical activity during the school day and out-of-school programs" and  that "increase physical activity by improving the built environment in communities."  For more information and instructions on how to apply, visit the AHA website.

In March, the magazine Autoweek, covered Volvo Car Corporation’s plan to begin manufacturing its V40 sedan with a pedestrian airbag that deploys across the windshield in the event the car hitting a pedestrian. The airbag ejects from the hood to protect pedestrians from injury.  Volvo previewed the car and airbag at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.