Pedestrians | Walkable Neighborhoods

New Guidelines for Pedestrian Safety Road Audits

Eric Fredericks • Friday November 30, 2007

The Pedestrian Road Safety Audit Guidelines and Prompt List report cover

A technical report recently released by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) gives new guidelines and prompt lists for pedestrian road safety audits. The report discusses at length the basic principles of pedestrian safety, the set up of an audit, and the universal considerations for a successful audit.

From the report: A road safety audit (RSA) is a formal safety examination of a future roadway plan or project or an in-service facility that is conducted by an independent, experienced multidisciplinary RSA team. All RSAs should include a review of pedestrian safety; however, some RSAs may be conducted to improve an identified pedestrian safety problem. The Pedestrian Road Safety Audit Guidelines and Prompt Lists provides transportation agencies and teams conducting an RSA with a better understanding of the needs of pedestrians of all abilities.

The Guide has two primary sections: Knowledge Base and the Field Manual. The Knowledge Base section discusses the basic concepts with which the RSA team should be familiar before conducting an RSA, such as understanding the characteristics of all pedestrians, analyzing pedestrian crash data, pedestrian considerations in the eight-step RSA process, and use of the Guide. The Field Manual section includes the guidelines and prompt lists. The guidelines provide detailed descriptions of potential pedestrian safety issues while the prompt lists are a general listing of potential pedestrian safety issues. The guidelines and prompt lists will help familiarize RSA teams with potential pedestrian issues and help them identify specific safety concerns related to pedestrian safety throughout the RSA process.

I have not read the report in detail, but I’ve scrolled through each page and it looks to be comprehensive. I can see this report used as a “go to guide” for putting together pedestrian safety workshops and audits. In fact, our workshop and audit services are no longer needed now that FHWA released this report. Just kidding.

I’d like to take the opportunity to stand on my soap box and address this topic for a moment. There is a big difference between having safe streets for pedestrians and having truly walkable neighborhoods. Whenever I give a presentation or lead a walking audit, I always focus on the big picture as well as the minutia of pedestrian design and safety. Some pedestrian advocates I’ve witnessed in action really understand the ins and outs of design, but don’t give much attention to land use or what really comprises livable communities. Sure, great pedestrian design can really enhance your community. But, if you don’t have the appropriate mix of land uses and proper site design and layout, all of it goes for naught. Plus, I feel it is important to discuss other modes of transportation: transit, bikes, and yes, even cars (roundabouts, road diets, home zones, etc.).

I do not want to downplay the importance of good pedestrian design. It’s really amazing to learn how little details in pedestrian design affect daily lives. For example, say someone that relies on a wheelchair for transportation cannot reach the push button at a signal crossing, and therefore cannot cross the street until someone comes along to assist them. Or, school children that live directly across the street from their school have to ride the bus because there is no safe crossing. I hear these stories all the time. But, I do think our society is starting to realize that we must plan for other modes of transportation besides the automobile. This report is a perfect example of this focus.

Some places are still lagging behind— see Missouri for an example. Maybe I’ll actually post the scathing article I wrote about this soon…

Category: Pedestrians •• Region: United States •• Comments [1]

Day 2: Post-Football Game Walking - Berkeley, CA

Eric Fredericks • Tuesday July 3, 2007

University of California students walking after a football game in Berkeley, CA

Berkeley is one of my favorite cities in the world, and it was rather difficult for me to pick out my favorite. This photo was the most striking to me – perhaps more so when viewed in full-screen mode. It takes me right back to the moment of wandering the neighborhoods of Berkeley following the Cal-Illinois football game in 2005. My Illini had the lead going into the 4th Quarter, but ended up collapsing and losing 35-20. I was wearing my Illini orange, and the Cal frat guys were razzing us as we left the stadium. These fans pictured were much more polite and I really enjoyed walking through Berkeley despite the tough loss.

You can also view an “honorable mention” photo of Berkeley after the jump. >>Continue Reading This Article>>

Category: Pedestrians •• Region: San Francisco •• comments

ETE: On GERMAN Traffic Lights...

Lauren Hilliard • Thursday August 17, 2006

A photo of a postcard with a Berlin ped head - "Berlin bei Nacht"

It’s not just me that thinks this little traffic light man is cool! There are an enormous amount of Ampelmann products and stores in Berlin — of which I stocked up on :-) The pedestrian crosswalk dude with his top hat distinguishes former east Berlin so you can always tell what part of the city you are in. I had a hard time capturing pictures of him without causing my own traffic in the crosswalk, so this is a picture I took of a postcard I bought (I told you they have tons of products!).

EDITOR’S NOTE: The ped head in this photo is reminiscent of perhaps the coolest ped heads in the world – in Taiwan. Watch this video and see for yourself!

This article is part of the Exploring Transportation in Europe series.

Category: Pedestrians •• Region: Germany •• comments

ETE: On GERMAN Pedestrian Zones...

Lauren Hilliard • Wednesday August 9, 2006

A pedestrian only street in Freiburg, Germany

This is a picture of my favorite street in Freiburg! I’m living in the ‘old town’ and absolutely love how this entire part of the city is a car-free zone. There are narrow, cobblestone streets winding everywhere with a few plazas by the Munster and the Rathaus (city hall). Outdoor seating for restaurants is found all over this area, people are bustling around in shops, and down the main corridor is the tram line leading to the rest of the Freiburg area. Having this huge pedestrian zone is a major part of Freiburg’s economy since big and small stores are all located here and see so much business. I certainly have made my contribution!

This article is part of the Exploring Transportation in Europe series.

Category: Pedestrians •• Region: Germany •• Comments

82-Year-Old That Received $114 Ticket for Slow Crossing Gets Famous

Eric Fredericks • Monday April 17, 2006

This is just outrageous if you haven’t already seen it – an 82-year-old gets $114 ticket for slow crossing. This has actually inspired an editorial to the Sacramento Bee, coverage around the globe, and some dialogue within Caltrans. Now, the 82-year-old woman, Mayvis Coyle, is becoming famous.

Hopefully Los Angeles will take the public outrage to heart and start bucking the trend of their 60 year fetish with the automobile. To be fair, there are a lot of great bike/ped advocates in the L.A. region and I am sure this will not be brushed aside lightly. How can it, with so much media attention? Score a strange victory for the pedestrians! Thanks to Maureen for bringing this to my attention.

Category: Pedestrians •• Region: Los Angeles •• Comments

In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle

Eric Fredericks • Friday March 31, 2006

Pedestrians crossing illegally near a bus stop at the University of Illinois

I just listened to a great walkable neighborhoods related song by They Might Be Giants called In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle. Check out the song lyrics:

Don’t cross the street in the middle in the middle
In the middle in the middle in the middle of the block

Use your eyes to look up
Use your ears to hear
Walk up to the corner when the coast is clear
And wait
And wait
Until you see the light turn green

Don’t cross the street in the middle in the middle
In the middle in the middle in the middle of the block

...And the song continues along in the same manner. It is a really quirky song, but it brings up an interesting debate: Is it really safest to cross at the intersection? Statistics show that most pedestrian crashes happen at intersections, which makes sense considering that is where most pedestrians cross the street. However, there are so many points of potential conflicts with pedestrians and vehicles at intersections. At mid-block crossings, most of the time there are as many points of conflict as the number of crossing lanes and you only have to look two different ways. Plus, you probably are crossing when you have the largest gaps between vehicles. Of course, this is often easier said than done, especially when you are crossing at point with no marked crosswalk. And you are taking the additional risk of getting a jaywalking ticket.

I have heard that in California it is legal to cross mid-block when you are not between two signalized intersections. I am not sure if the same applies based upon distance between signalized intersections. I should hope so, sometimes you can go miles in suburbia without a signalized intersection.

Needless to say, no matter where you cross, always use extreme caution. Even the most frequent walkers (Like me, I have had a few close calls recently even while playing close attention).

The photo above was shot at a bus stop at the University of Illinois. I noticed that the two girls in the left side of the photo were crossing the street in the middle, in the middle, in the middle of the block. The interesting thing is that the side of the street I was sitting on is in Urbana. The side they crossed from is in Champaign. Who has jurisdiction? My guess is the University Police. Makes for some interesting police incident coding reports I bet!

Category: Pedestrians •• Region: General •• Comments [1]

Video: Busiest Pedestrian Crossing in the World

Eric Fredericks • Thursday March 23, 2006

This is supposedly the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world at Shibuya Station in Tokyo, Japan. Watch how long the pedestrians get to cross in the full traffic light cycle! I would have a hard time seeing our traffic engineers in most places the U.S. implementing this any time soon. Although, it is being used in heavy pedestrian places throughout the U.S., including Champaign, Illinois at the University of Illinois campus and in San Diego in the Gaslamp Quarter.

I did not get to visit Shibuya (at least I don’t think I did) when I visited Tokyo in 2003. However, I saw many places just like it. I really hope I get to return to Tokyo, it is an amazing city. Somehow, my friend and I managed to navigate their clean and efficient subway system (the best I have ever ridden). Quite impressive when you consider that THIS is your system map! We stayed near the Akasaka Station.

As you can tell by the lovely embedded video above, I am trying something new for our site. I plan on blogging interesting videos I come across online related to walkability. I plan on shooting some of my own in the future, when I have better technological capabilities. Posting the video is easy, thanks to my good friend’s site, YouTube. In fact, I added a video I shot to an earlier article I wrote on the Sacramento Farmers’ Market.
If you have not visited YouTube yet, you really must check it out.

Category: Pedestrians •• Region: Tokyo •• Comments [1]

New Guidelines for Flexible Funding of Pedestrian and Bicycling Activities

Eric Fredericks • Tuesday March 21, 2006

Never again say that there is no money for bike/ped projects! A great new resource table was released last month by the FHWA called FHWA and FTA Funds That May Be Used for Bicycle and Pedestrian Activities. It is a simple, yet powerful tool. However, do not forget that often the best way to fund your projects is to just be creative with the resources you already have. This guidance will help you fund the big projects.