Research finds pedestrian-focused infrastructure can boost safety

Article reprinted from CTS News, August 12, 2026.

Published MnDOT Report: Behavioral Investigation of Temporary and Permanent Pedestrian Infrastructure

Pedestrian injuries and fatalities have significant personal, societal, and financial impacts, making it crucial to identify effective strategies to improve pedestrian safety. A research project by the UMN’s Human Factors Safety Laboratory (HFSL) evaluated the effectiveness of both temporary (i.e., quick-build) and permanent pedestrian-focused intersection features, such as curb extensions and pedestrian refuge islands. Researchers sought to understand how these features changed pedestrian and driver behavior — and how that affected safety.

Minnesota, in line with nationwide trends, saw an increase in pedestrian deaths between 2013 and 2022 (from 1.55 to 2.33 deaths per 100,000 nationwide). Similar high-income countries generally experienced a decrease in pedestrian deaths in the same period. “This remains a hot-button topic for research in the traffic safety space,” said HFSL research associate Curtis Craig, lead investigator on the project and CTS scholar, in a webinar discussing the research. The project was sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Local Road Research Board.

Several unique factors make U.S. roadways especially challenging for pedestrians. “The high incidence of large trucks and SUVs makes it more difficult to see pedestrians, and any impact would be more severe because of the greater mass and geometry of the front grills on those vehicles,” Craig said. “There’s also simply a large preponderance of high-speed, multi-lane roads, which is a high-risk factor for pedestrians and drivers.”

Pedestrian-friendly infrastructure strategies aim to reduce those risks. With guidance from Minneapolis’s Vision Zero 2023–2024 pedestrian safety plan, researchers identified 12 intersections in Minneapolis and St. Paul to study before and after the installation of quick-build pedestrian infrastructure and concrete infrastructure. Quick-build infrastructure includes temporary or plastic features, such as bollards replicating bump-outs and sidewalk extensions. The goal of the study was to compare the safety influence on driver behavior of these quick-build features with those of permanent concrete infrastructure.

The study evaluated a mix of signalized and unsignalized intersections with temporary and permanent infrastructure features in a variety of income areas and with various levels of pedestrian and vehicle traffic. The team recorded driver behavior in pass-through and right-turn intersections. Data was collected in staged and natural pedestrian crossings using both in-person observations and video to record driver speeds, stops, and pedestrian behavior. The video footage was analyzed with the help of artificial intelligence algorithms.

The study found that whether permanent or temporary, the presence of the installations generally improved the rates of drivers stopping for pedestrians and led to a small but significant decline in traffic speeds at intersections. Temporary median refuges reduced the average speeds of drivers in free-flowing traffic at both signalized and unsignalized intersections. Since high driver speed is associated with a higher likelihood of pedestrian fatalities and higher injury severity, this is an especially meaningful benefit, Craig noted.

However, using flexible delineators as temporary curb extensions slightly reduced the likelihood of drivers stopping for pedestrians compared to permanent infrastructure, particularly at signalized intersections. The researchers noted a decline in stopping rates, for right-turning drivers at signalized intersections outfitted with temporary curb extensions, while the permanent, concrete curb extensions appeared to perform slightly better. The researchers speculated that the presence of bollards or other features surrounding the temporary infrastructure created a distraction, or “clutter,” that diverted drivers’ attention away from pedestrians as they navigated the intersection turn. “It’s a more visually complex environment, with more cars and more pedestrians to look out for,” Craig said.

The flexible delineators used cost between $30 and $100 each plus labor for installation, and most intersections require 12 delineators. Meanwhile, permanent concrete extensions cost about $18,000 each (or more if installation requires interaction with the sewage system) and median islands cost as much as $55,000. However, the study emphasizes that fatal pedestrian crashes have a tremendous cost. Beyond devastating personal and societal impacts, researchers point to a 2020 assessment by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that tallied more than $68 million in medical and work-loss costs related to pedestrian fatalities.

No two intersections in the study could be considered identical; the presence or lack of on-street parking, construction, and variations in pedestrian behaviors influenced each crossing. Craig said that future engineering projects considering the use of quick-build infrastructure need to weigh the many variables that define each intersection. Ultimately, when transportation infrastructure prioritizes pedestrians, public safety improves on Minnesota’s streets.

—Amy Goetzman, contributing writer