Improving pedestrian safety while simultaneously increasing the opportunity to walk presents a challenge for many communities used to designing roadways only for the automobile. But the need is clear, as stated by a recent Federal Highway Administration policy paper on designing for pedestrians and cyclists:

"There is no question that conditions for bicycling and walking need to be improved in every community in the United States; it is no longer acceptable that 6,000 bicyclists and pedestrians are killed in traffic every year, that people with disabilities cannot travel without encountering barriers, and that two desirable and efficient modes of travel have been made difficult and uncomfortable."(1) 

While we’ve outlined the many barriers to pedestrian safety, there is a clear path to safer streets. It includes retrofitting streets to make walking safer, designing communities to encourage walking, investing in pedestrian safety, and studying the pedestrian safety problem.

Since so many of our streets have been designed exclusively with automobiles in mind, it takes more than a crosswalk and a walk signal to make them safe and inviting for pedestrians. Many communities across the country are making streets safer with traffic calming techniques.(2)  Traffic calming redesigns streets to reduce vehicle speeds and give more space and priority to cyclists and pedestrians. Traffic calming includes a variety of changes that slow or divert vehicle traffic, separate pedestrian pathways from vehicle traffic, and make the road corridor more pleasant. Common traffic calming measures include landscaped traffic circles, medians or extended sidewalks that narrow the roadway, and partial closures to divert through traffic. Many communities are slowing traffic with speed humps, but the most successful projects integrate a variety of techniques that make the street more attractive and inviting for people on foot and bicycle. The Institute of Traffic Engineers has published a manual on traffic calming; to see it visit http://www.ite.org/traffic/index.htm .

Studies have shown that traffic calming is very effective in reducing vehicle speeds and reducing collisions. One study found that traffic calming reduced speeds by four to twelve miles per hour. Officials in Seattle, Washington, estimate that their traffic circle program prevented 273 accidents over four years, saving $1.7 billion in property and casualty losses. An international study of traffic circles found they reduced collisions by an average of 82 percent.(3) 

The "choker" as depicted above slows down traffic by decreasing street widths.  The image on the right shows this type of traffic calming deice in practice in Montgomery County, Maryland.  Photos from Fehr and Peers Associates.

Traffic calming is but one part of a broader attempt to fundamentally refocus the design of both streets and communities so that walking is safe and convenient.

Encouraging pedestrian travel means designing communities so that people have somewhere to walk to. That means developing neighborhoods where residents are within a reasonable walking distance of shops, offices, schools, libraries, and transit stops. According to the American Planning Association’s Best Development Practices, the best neighborhoods for walking are developed in small clusters, with well-defined centers and edges, and compact commercial centers.(4)  The street network in these neighborhoods should include multiple connections and direct routes that allow pedestrians to choose the shortest distance to a destination. Schools should also be placed so children can walk and bicycle without having to cross high-speed streets.

When it comes to designing roads, engineers traditionally begin at the centerline and by the time they reach the road edge, they have often "run out" of room for pedestrian "amenities." New design policy guidelines issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recommend that state and local planners and road builders drop that approach, and design all facilities from the start with pedestrians and cyclists in mind. The new guidance calls for re-writing highway design manuals so they reflect this new, more balanced approach. One effort is underway in Delaware, where the state Department of Transportation, with STPP’s help, is writing a traffic calming design manual, the first of its kind in the U.S. The manual covers street design, signing and marking, and other planning and engineering issues.

This is part of a wider movement toward designing highways in context, to make sure they respect the cultural, environmental, and scenic assets in a community. A number of states are revamping the process they use for designing roads, but only one state has completely rewritten its standards. Vermont re-wrote its standards in the mid-1990s to allow lower design speeds, and narrower roadways. The standards have also been codified under state law, essentially removing the fear of lawsuits.

Making pedestrian safety a priority means investing transportation funds in pedestrian facilities and safer streets. Each state should attempt to align pedestrian safety funding to pedestrian safety needs, as indicated by rates of fatalities and injuries: if 25 percent of a state’s traffic deaths are pedestrians, it should consider allocating a similr share of safety funding to making walking safer. State Departments of Transportation should target such funding by using a systematic approach for identifying problem areas for pedestrians, similar to the systems now used to identify high accident areas for vehicles. When it comes to funding, dangerous pedestrian areas should be considered on an equal footing with dangerous locations for motor vehicles.

One way to begin to direct money into pedestrian safety is to focus on one of the most critical needs, creating safe routes to school. The state of California recently passed a law that reserves one-third of the state’s TEA-21 federal safety set-aside for a program that will fund traffic calming, crosswalks, sidewalks, bike lanes and paths in and around California schools. The law was deemed necessary because the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) hadn’t taken any action to update its safety set-aside program to reflect the changes TEA-21 made with regard to bicyclists and pedestrians. School districts will assess the need for improvements around their schools, and apply for grants from the state. For a copy of this model legislation, visit http://www.baypeds.org/saferoutes.html .

A "Safe Routes to School" movement is spreading across the United States as parents and school and health officials see a need to help give children a more independent and healthier way to get around. "Walk to School Day" is an event held each fall to call attention for the need for a safe walking environment. (In 2000, the "International Walk to School Day" is being held on October 4th.) Thousands of schools organize groups of parents, teachers, and students to walk school, often inviting local officials to highlight the need for safe routes to schools. For more information, visit http://www.iwalktoschool.org .

Another fundamental step in improving pedestrian safety is to collect more information about pedestrian fatalities and injuries, the amount of walking and the risks associated with walking, the effectiveness of pedestrian safety measures, and even how much is spent on pedestrian facilities. Federal databases concentrate on collecting information about motor vehicles and the data collected about pedestrians are incomplete and often inaccurate, crippling attempts to improve pedestrian safety.

While the Federal Highway Administration is able to forecast the amount of driving annually, no attempt is made to determine the amount of walking each year. The FHWA database that records all federal transportation spending, the Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS), includes hundreds of categories aimed at collecting many details on highway construction, but only allows the most rudimentary assessment of how much is being spent to make walking safe and convenient. The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) records the entire 17 digit vehicle identification number for every vehicle involved in a fatal accident, but it often doesn’t record where a pedestrian was when they were hit (for 22 percent of pedestrian deaths, FARS could not identify whether the pedestrian was inside or outside of a crosswalk, or even whether there was a crosswalk in the vicinity of the accident). The US Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the National Transportation Safety Board should design research programs specifically aimed at capturing new information about this important travel mode and the risks associated with it.

Local officials and citizens also have a role to play, by identifying unsafe walking environments. The Partnership For A Walkable America and other groups offer "walkability audits" that individuals and community groups can use to assess problems in their neighborhood. In many places, citizens have invited local officials on such walks to show them the dangers pedestrians face. For more information, visit http://www.nsc.org/walk/wkcheck.htm .

Spend on pedestrian safety in proportion to pedestrian deaths.

If thirteen percent of all traffic fatalities are pedestrians, it stands to reason that a similar amount of safety funds should be devoted to pedestrian safety. In addition, federal transportation dollars no longer restricted to highway use should be directed toward providing a variety of safe and convenient pedestrian facilities.

Retrofit streets with traffic calming.

With so many streets designed only for automobiles, it will take more than a few sidewalks and crosswalks to make them safe and inviting for pedestrians. Traffic calming techniques, such as curb bulb-outs and traffic circles, slow down automobiles in key places and reclaim streets for children, residents, and others on foot or bicycle.

Design new streets and neighborhoods for walking.

More people will walk in neighborhoods where there is somewhere to walk to. The best neighborhoods for walking put residents within a reasonable distance of shops, offices, schools, and transit stops, and provide a street and path network that allows direct routes between them.

Collect more information on pedestrian safety.

Federal databases provide little information about the risks associated with walking, the effectiveness of pedestrian safety measures, or even how much is spent on pedestrian safety. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics should design research programs to learn more about how to improve pedestrian safety. On the local level, citizens are already performing "walkability audits" that assess the dangers to pedestrians, block by block.

 

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Chapter One - America's Dangerous Streets

Chapter Two - The Dangers of Walking Less

Chapter Three - The Neglect of Pedestrian Safety

Chapter Four - Solutions for Safer Streets

Methodology

Endnotes

Resources

Appendix