Study Details

Study Title: Safety Effectiveness of Pedestrian Crossing Enhancements

Authors: Monsere et al.,

Publication Date:FEB, 2017

Abstract: Over the last decade, the Oregon DOT and other agencies have systematically implemented many pedestrian crossing enhancements (PCEs) across the state. This study explored the safety performance of these enhanced crossing in Oregon. Detailed data were collected on 191 crossings. Supplemental data items included crossing location information, route characteristics, surrounding land use and crossing enhancement descriptions. Pedestrian volume at the crossing locations was a highly desirable but unavailable data element. To characterize pedestrian activity, a method was developed to estimate ranges for pedestrian crosswalk activity levels based on the land use classification at the census block level and the presence of pedestrian traffic generators such as bus stops, schools, shopping centers and hospitals within a 0.25-mile radius. Each crosswalk was categorized into one of six levels of activity – very low, low, medium-low, medium, medium-high and high. Crash data for the 2007-2014 period were assembled for the safety analysis. After filtering, 62 pedestrian crashes and 746 rear-end crashes were retained for further analysis. The crash data were merged and analyzed. Crash patterns and risk ratios were explored. The most important trend observed was a shift (reduction) in the pedestrian crash severity after the installation of the crosswalk treatments. This shift was from fatal and injury A crash type to lower severity crashes of injury B and injury C. For pedestrian crashes, increases in the risk ratio were observed for increases in the number of lanes, the posted speed, and estimated pedestrian activity level. Similar trends were observed for rear-end crashes. Due to data limitations, subsequent safety analysis focused on installations of RRFB crossing enhancements. A CMF for RRFB installations was estimated. The CMFS for pedestrian crashes are 0.64 +/- 0.26 using a simple before-after analysis; for rear-end crashes: 0.93 +/- 0.22 using an empirical Bayes analysis approach.

Study Citation: Monsere, C., M. A. Figliozzi, S. M. Kothuri, A. Razmpa, and D. Hazel. "Safety Effectiveness of Pedestrian Crossing Enhancements." Report No. SPR 778. Oregon Department of Transportation. Salem, Oregon. (February 2017).

Related Citations: Monsere, C., S. Kothuri, A. Razmpa, and M. Figliozzi. "An Analysis of The Safety Effectiveness of Pedestrian Crossing Enhancements in Oregon". Presented at the 97th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Paper No. 18-00737, Washington, D.C., (2018).


CMFs Associated With This Study

Category: Pedestrians

Countermeasure: Install enhanced RRFB pedestrian crossing at mid-block crossing location

CMF CRF(%)QualityCrash TypeCrash SeverityRoadway TypeArea Type
0.64361 StarVehicle/pedestrianAllAllAll
0.9372 StarsRear endAllAllAll