[sustran] How to Prevent Pedestrian Fatalities

[Vinay Baindur]

http://www.utne.com/community/prevent-pedestrian-fatalities-zbsz1410zhur.aspx

How to Prevent Pedestrian Fatalities

10/2/2014 3:45:00 PM

By Jay Walljasper

Tags: walking <http://www.utne.com/search.aspx?tags=%22walking%22>,
bicycling <http://www.utne.com/search.aspx?tags=%22+bicycling%22>, pedestrian
safety <http://www.utne.com/search.aspx?tags=%22+pedestrian+safety%22>

[image: Pedestrians crossing the street]

Ways of reducing pedestrian fatalities include shortening crosswalks and
making them more visible.

More than 4,500 pedestrians are killed by motor vehicles every year on the
streets of America (see earlier Utneblog
<http://www.utne.com/community/american-cities-embrace-pedestrian-safety.aspx#axzz3BgvayzlQ>).
This is not an inevitable fact of modern life. These deaths are
preventable, as shown by the dramatic decline of pedestrian fatalities (as
well as bicyclists and motorists) in Sweden
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/nyregion/a-safety-plan-with-swedish-logic-and-city-smarts.html?_r=0>
after
they adopted the Vision Zero <http://www.visionzeroinitiative.com/> approach
to traffic safety.

The gravest danger to walkers and bicyclists as well as motorists is other
motorists who drive dangerously. According to data collected by the New
York City Department of Transportation from 2008-2012, “dangerous driver
choices” <http://www.nyc.gov/html/visionzero/pages/home/saves-lives.html>
contribute
to pedestrian deaths in 70 percent of cases. “Dangerous pedestrian choices”
is responsible in 30 percent of cases and joint responsibility in 17
percent of cases.

As the old saying goes, speed kills. Two landmark studies
<http://humantransport.org/sidewalks/SpeedKills.htm>, one from the US and
one from the UK, found that pedestrians are killed:

— 5 percent of the time when struck by a car traveling 20 mph

— 37-45 percent of the time when struck by a car traveling 30 mph

— 83-85 percent of the time when struck by a car traveling 40 mph.

In light of these findings, it’s scary to realize that traffic on many if
not most American roads travels closer to 40 mph than 20 mph.

“If we could do one switch to make safer streets it would be to reduce car
speeds to 20 mph, which would reduce pedestrian fatalities by 90 percent,”
says Scott Bricker, Executive Director of the America Walks
<http://americawalks.org/> pedestrian advocacy network. America Walks also
plays a big role in Every Body Walk! <http://everybodywalk.org/>, a
collaborative of citizens, businesses and organizations across many fields
convened by the health care non-profit Kaiser Permanente.

This means more than lowering speed limits. Charlie Zegeer, project manager
at the University of North Carolina’s authoritative Pedestrian and Bicycle
Information Center <http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/> (PBIC) says, “Research
shows that lowering a speed limit without other improvements like road
design changes or improved police enforcement doesn’t work to slow
traffic—it’s the roadway design that affects the speed.”

Here’s a few of practical steps to slow speeds, deter distracted driving
and help make walking a safer, comfortable and enjoyable experience for
everyone. This is where Vision Zero hits the road.

— *Reduce the number of travel lanes on wide streets* wherever possible.
Downsizing four-lane suburban and urban streets to two travel lanes with an
alternating turn lane in the middle has become a popular trend
<http://www.bikewalktwincities.org/news-events/news/idea-our-times-road-diets-make-streets-safer-save-money-expand-road-capacity-and-pr>
across
the country. Not only does this create safer streets, it lessens noise for
residents and creates an opportunity to add sidewalks, bike lanes and
landscaping. (This is known as a road diet, lane reduction or 2+1 road.)

— *Reduce the width of travel lanes. *Wide lanes send an unmistakable
message for drivers to speed up.

— *Reduce the length of crosswalks.* A shorter walk across the street is a
safer one. This can be done in a number of ways, but most commonly by
extending the sidewalk out into the intersection. (This is known as a curb
extension or bulb-out.)

—* Add raised medians islands in the middle of busy streets* as a refuge
for crossing pedestrians. This has been shown to reduce traffic accidents
by 56 percent, according to Gil Penalosa of 8-80 Cities
<http://www.8-80cities.org/>.

— *Make crosswalks more visible*. Elevate them to curb level (known as
speed tables), or brightly mark them with wide swaths of paint.

— *Give pedestrians a head start at traffic lights. *Five seconds allows
pedestrians to enter the crosswalk first and be more visible to motorists,
says Penalosa. Lining up waiting cars a few feet back from the intersection
can also be helpful.

— *Ban right on red turns at busy intersections. *Drivers, busy watching
out for other cars, often don’t see pedestrians crossing the street on
green lights.

— *Keep the turning radius 90 degrees at intersections.* Rounded street
corners encourage drivers to turn without stopping or looking for
pedestrians.

— *Install traffic circles, roundabouts, speed humps, raised crosswalks and
other traffic calming devices*, which help motorists drive safely and keep
an eye out for pedestrians.

— *Convert one-way streets to two-way,* which encourages safer, slower
driving.

— *Pay close attention to road designs at bus stops.* Pedestrians often
rush across the street to catch their bus, not paying attention to oncoming
traffic.

— *Create pedestrian streets, bridges and underpasses* in busy areas where
other measures are not feasible to minimize conflict with traffic and
enhance the convenience of walking.

— *Separate bike lanes from car lanes on busy streets*. Protected bike lanes
<http://www.peopleforbikes.org/green-lane-project> create a more
comfortable, enjoyable trip for pedestrians too.

— *Strict enforcement of laws against speeding, failure to yield to
pedestrians, drunk driving and reckless driving*. The loss of loved one
killed by a car is no less tragic than one killed by a gun.

— *Install red light cameras and other means of photo enforcement.* It’s
expensive to station a police car at every unsafe intersection, but
technology can nab lawbreakers at a fraction of the cost. Washington DC now
uses cameras to detect and fine drivers who do not yield right-of-way to
pedestrians as well as those who speed or run red lights, says Charlie
Zegeer of the Pedestrian and Bicycling Information Center.

— *Establish Safe Routes to Schools campaigns*, which bring educators,
parents, neighbors and kids themselves together to find safe, satisfying
ways for students to walk and bike to school
<http://saferoutespartnership.org/>.

— *Implement training programs about pedestrian safety* for traffic
engineers, transportation planners, police, city officials, citizens and
children. “All the kids in the Netherlands have three weeks instruction in
the rules of the road at school,” notes Penalosa. “They role play being
pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.”

— *Put Pedestrians First.* “Every city should have a by-law of one sentence
stating: “In this city, pedestrians come first,” declares Penalosa.
“Everyone is a pedestrian at some point during the day, even if you are
just walking from your parking space. So everyone has a stake in Vision
Zero.”

“These pedestrian improvements also typically improve motorists’ and
bicyclists’ safety,” Zegeer adds. “It’s a win-win-win. Everyone’s safer.”

------------------------------

*Jay Walljasper was an editor at *Utne Reader *from 1984 to 2004, serving
as executive editor, editor and editorial director. He is author of *The
Great Neighborhood Book
<http://www.pps.org/product/the-great-neighborhood-book/> *and* All That We
Share: A Field Guide to the Commons
<http://www.onthecommons.org/magazine/all-we-share-field-guide-commons>*,
and editor of *Commons* magazine* <http://www.onthecommons.org/>.* He
writes, speaks and consults for a variety of organizations about creating
strong, vital communities. Read more on his website
<http://www.jaywalljasper.com/>.*

Photo by Fotolia/vbaleha