To enhance pedestrian safety at intersections, transportation agencies may install temporary or permanent infrastructure such as curb extensions or pedestrian refuge islands. While more permanent infrastructure with concrete is generally considered effective, specific details about temporary infrastructure with flexible delineators (or bollards), such as installation, use and safety impact, would be valuable to optimize cost-effectiveness. This project evaluated both temporary and permanent pedestrian infrastructure at crossing sites to measure the effects on pedestrian safety and driver behavior.
Continue reading Evaluating the Safety Impacts of Select Pedestrian InfrastructureTag Archives: pedestrian safety
Designing Channelized Right-Turn Lanes to Increase Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety
The use of channelized right-turn (CRT) lanes at intersections can improve driver safety and traffic mobility but can be challenging for bicyclists and pedestrians, particularly those with sight or other impairments. This project examines the current practice of CRTs to identify design solutions and mitigation strategies to better accommodate the safety and accessibility needs of all road users.
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Improving Pedestrian Safety on Reservations in Minnesota
MnDOT has identified Native Americans as one of six priority populations in the state that experience disproportionate risks as pedestrians. To access everyday services such as grocery stores, workplaces and schools, pedestrians may have to cross a state or county roadway at unmarked crossings. Installing traffic safety countermeasures at these crossings is intended to reduce the risk faced by pedestrians. This project analyzed pedestrian safety at 23 locations within seven reservations and the effectiveness of countermeasures implemented at six locations.
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Tribal Pedestrian Safety
A new video developed by the Center for Transportation Studies highlights a multiyear study of pedestrian safety at reservations that was undertaken by U of M researchers and partners from seven Anishinaabe tribes. The work was sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT).
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New Project: Roadside Feature Placement and Pedestrian Safety on Low and Intermediate Speed Roads
Guidelines for designing and placing roadside features have traditionally focused on automobile safety on higher-speed roads. Research has also shown feature placement can have safety benefits for pedestrians and bicyclists on lower-speed roads.
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Understanding Factors That Influence Driver Yielding to Pedestrians
Vehicle speeds, type of pedestrian, road characteristics and other variables can impact whether drivers yield to pedestrians attempting to cross a road at an unsignalized intersection. An analysis of data collected from 18 intersections identified human and site attributes that correlate to higher rates of driver yielding. Knowledge of these potentially influential factors will help local engineers build safer crossings at intersections.
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Improving Driver Yielding to Pedestrians at Intersections
Improving the rates of drivers yielding to pedestrians has been challenging despite crosswalk laws. Expanding on an earlier study, researchers further explored the effectiveness of engineering treatments at road crossings, giving agencies a deeper understanding of how to maximize pedestrian safety.
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Designing Pedestrian Safety Features for Year-Round Maintenance
Pedestrian safety countermeasures near roadways require year-round maintenance to be effective. Clearing snow and ice has not generally been a design consideration for safety treatments, but new research has identified specific design criteria to help MnDOT and other agencies keep walkways clear without impeding maintenance efforts.
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Enhancing Pedestrian Experiences at Roundabouts
While roundabouts improve traffic efficiency and reduce accidents, pedestrian safety concerns linger. A study of driver–pedestrian interactions at roundabouts produced guidance for local agencies to increase driver yielding and enhance the pedestrian experience.
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New Project: Assessment of Pedestrian Safety and Driver Behavior Near Automated Vehicles
With the number of automated vehicles increasing on our roadways it is important to understand their potential impacts and how other road users will interact with them. In the future, there will be a more pronounced shared levels-of-automation transportation network, with fully manual, partially automated, and fully automated vehicles sharing the same Minnesota roads. While planners and engineers have a reasonable idea of how humans drive around other humans, what is not as well-known is human driving behavior around automated vehicles.
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Crossroads 