Human-centred Pedestrian Safety Evaluation Program: User Guide
Contents
1. Due to time and resource constraints and the extensive number of signalized and unsignalized intersections within the jurisdiction of the City of Ottawa it is obviously impractical to include all intersections in the Ped ISI prioritization process A decision must be made by the City regarding which intersections to include initially upon launching the program and what criteria would be used to expand the inclusion of intersections considered in future years One recommendation would be to initially evaluate all intersections that have experienced fatal or injury pedestrian collisions in the latest 5 years for which data is available Community input public complaints Council suggestions and ongoing collision occurrences could then dictate which intersections are added to the list in subsequent years of the program Gather data Users of the Ped ISI tool will need to gather data on geometric and operational characteristics of each intersection and crosswalk This can be done either through historical databases GIS or digital mapping design drawings or brief field visits A list of specific data requirements is provided in Section 2 3 Calculate Ped ISI index values The City of Ottawa Ped ISI tool is spreadsheet based and the administrator of the tool will ensure that the most up to date data available is entered into the master version of the tool for each intersection subordinate or rover versions of the tool may be mad2. speed management Traffic management Maintenance awareness education enforcement Akas Fa Countermeasure Install a traffic signal at an unsignalized intersection Install pedestrian signal heads Install countdown pedestrian signal heads Increase pedestrian signal symbol size for crossing distances greater than 30m increase symbol height Increase signal phase time assume a reduced walking speed of 0 9m s Implement a scramble pedestrian phase Implement an exclusive pedestrian phase pedestrian walk indication with no concurrent vehicle green phase Implement a leading pedestrian interval LPI signal phase Implement two stage partial crossing Ensure pedestrian push buttons and related signage is located appropriately if applicable Install accessible pedestrian signals APS amp push buttons Implement automatic pedestrian detection at signalized crossings Provide advance left turn phase for vehicles with don t walk indication for pedestrians Install supplementary signage e g additional crossing info watch for pedestrians look both ways etc Install supplementary signage at school crossings e g advance warning flashing beacons Install raised pedestrian crosswalk Install texturized coloured crosswalk pavement Install enhanced crosswalk pavement markings e g zebra ladder zig zag Provide advance yield markings at crosswalks or increase the setback Add o
3. These processes can begin simultaneously Develop potential countermeasures that may address the pedestrian safety issues at the top ranked site s Receive feedback issues amp constraints from the Community committee r Countermeasure Countermeasures evaluation Countermeasure selection Implementation amp Monitoring Presentation of functional plan that would include only the most appropriate countermeasures at each site Implementation Ottawa crimini MRC A kans 0 User Guide for Technical Tools 2 PRIORITIZATION TOOL USER GUIDE 2 1 Background The City of Ottawa pedestrian safety evaluation process utilizes prioritization methodology developed by the U S Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration FHWA that is known as the Pedestrian Intersection Safety Index Ped ISI This methodology calculates a safety index value for each crossing at intersection enabling users to identify intersections and intersection approach legs that are likely to be a safety concern for pedestrians and should therefore receive priority for undergoing pedestrian oriented safety improvements Using observable characteristics such as traffic control land use speeds volumes and cross section design the methodology produces a safety index score with higher scor
4. 13 700 people suffered some level of personal injury Almost 70 of the pedestrian fatalities took place in urban areas and two thirds were killed at intersections Even though crash involvement rates for persons 65 years of age and over are lower than for most other age groups seniors are much more vulnerable to serious injury or death when struck by a motor vehicle than younger pedestrians In Canada over one third of all pedestrian fatalities involve a senior citizen This constitutes a substantial over representation of this group In its Pedestrian Crossing Control Manual the Transportation Association of Canada TAC states Pedestrian crossings present one of the greatest challenges for the traffic and safety engineering communities 3 Kenneth Ogden in his seminal work on road safety engineering further reinforces this view Pedestrians bicyclists and other vulnerable road users require specific consideration traffic design and management particularly from a road safety viewpoint 1 2 TheCity of Ottawa Context The walking mode of travel represents an important component of overall travel demand in the City of Ottawa Estimates of walking trip activity prepared for the City as part of another project indicate that in 2001 pedestrians accounted for over 81 million person trips in the course of the year or almost 12 of all travel demand in the City The vast majority of these trips took place in the urbanized are
5. The pedestrian safety evaluation process has been designed as two separate work streams to be carried out by city staff and community committees respectively The work streams are generally carried out independently and concurrently with pre defined interfaces to maintain communications between the two parties and to ensure the needs of each are being satisfied Responsibilities of city staff include the following e Maintaining and expanding the database of intersections under consideration e Collecting inputting and updating the reguired data for each intersection as necessary e Programming pedestrian safety improvements based on budget allocations the calculated Pedestrian Safety Index from the prioritization tool collision history public input political pressure and any other considerations that may be necessary A kussa O 2 User Guide for Technical Tools Identifying candidate countermeasures and conducting detailed engineering studies for the programmed intersections to determine the most appropriate and most effective improvements on a site by site basis Design and implement the improvements Responsibilities of community committees include the following Supplement the data collection efforts of the city Review the list of improvement priorities identified by city staff and provide input regarding sites that may have been overlooked With detailed guidance in the form of a prompt list or formal document conduc
6. developed using data from urban and suburban intersections with the following characteristics e 3 leg and 4 leg intersections e Signalized 4 way stop and 2 way stop controlled intersections e Traffic volumes ranging from 600 to 50 000 vehicles per day e One way and two way roadways e One to four through lanes per approach e Posted speed limits from 15 to 45 mph 24 1 and 72 4 km h The Ped ISI is applied most appropriately at intersections that meet the above criteria Safety index values that are produced for intersections with characteristics outside these ranges should only be used with the understanding that the models were not developed using intersections of that type A kussa O 5 User Guide for Technical Tools 2 2 Key steps The City of Ottawa Ped ISI prioritization tool is quite straightforward and easy to use An input data sheet is provided where the user enters the required data for each intersection a series of internal calculations are performed and an output sheet summarizes the results and allows the user to sort based on a variety of criteria One needs only to determine what intersections will be evaluated in the process gather and input the data review and sort the resulting Ped ISI values compare Ped ISI values with collision history if desired and set the final priorities for the pedestrian safety improvement program More direction on the individual steps is provided below Select sites to evaluate
7. serpentine street on approach to crosswalk Implement woonerf street for living Install neighbourhood gateway identity treatment Implement landscaping streetscape improvements Implement special street paving treatments to reduce speed Install traffic diverters Prohibit right turn on red Prohibit vehicle turning movements Implement a partial street closure at an intersection leg i e make one way at intersection Implement a full closure at an intersection leg i e convert 4 leg intersection to 3 leg consider pedestrian street Install red light cameras Install speed monitoring feedback signs Increase enforcement Implement a crossing guard Relocate parent pick up drop off areas away from school crosswalks Maintain crosswalk pavement markings Sidewalk and crosswalk maintenance 16 User Guide for Technical Tools 3 4 Output and results Figures 4 and 5 provide an example of inputs specified by the user and the resulting list of countermeasures suggested by the tool Figure 6 Countermeasure selection tool sample input sheet Site specific road intersection crossing characteristics Unsignalized Residential Elderley children No Risk factors performance objectives identified through field audit process Reduce vehicle speeds Improve sightlines and visibili Reduce vehicular volume Run Results Figure 7 Countermeasure selection tool tabulated results summar
8. with the site and with each other that will be designed and implemented based on the application heuristics provided in the documentation and best practices of the industry 3 3 Data requirements and input variables The countermeasure selection tool requires user inputs from two perspectives the site specific characteristics e g design features vehicle and pedestrian volumes operating speeds etc and site specific safety risks that need to be addressed e g the need to reduce vehicle speeds improve visibility etc The user input variables and a brief explanation of each is provided in Tables 2 and 3 respectively Table 2 Countermeasure selection tool site specific characteristic inputs Data Input Data Format Notes Type of traffic control Signalized This variable indicates whether the intersection Unsignalized traffic control is with a traffic signal or with stop signs Pedestrian volume High Low This variable indicates the pedestrian crossing volume at the intersection and crossing of interest A high volume is categorized as more than 1 200 per day and low is less than 1 200 per day Vehicle volume High Low This variable indicates whether the vehicular volume on the main street at the crossing of interest is high or low Operating speed High Low This variable indicates whether the 85 percentile operating speed of vehicles on the main street at the crossing of interest is high 70km h or more or lo
9. Ave 2009 1 80 Capital Bronson Ave University Rd 2009 2 86 Gloucester South Nepean Crestway Dr Cresthaven Dr 2009 1 74 Gloucester Southgate Albiod Rd Bridle Path Dr 2009 2 03 Kitchissippi Richmond Rd Churchill Ave 2008 2 03 Knoxdale Merivale Woodroffe Ave Slack Rd 2009 2 92 Orleans Jeanne D Arc Blvd OR 174 EB Ramps 2009 2 50 Rideau Vanier King Edward Ave Rideau St 2009 2 73 Rideau Vanier King Edward Ave Laurier Ave 2009 2 37 River Baseline Rd Prince of Wales Dr 2009 3 13 Somerset Kent St Albert St 2009 2 53 Somerset Albert St Bank St 2009 2 17 While this methodology provides a consistent and defensible framework for prioritizing locations for pedestrian safety improvements it is reiterated that the Ped ISI index values have limitations as they are based on a regression model that considers only factors that have been shown through research to have a statistically significant relationship to safety performance This index should not constitute an indiscriminate and concrete prioritization of locations for improvement rather it should be used in conjunction with detailed study local knowledge collision history and engineering judgement to produce a finalized program of prioritized safety improvement locations 2 5 Starting a new year At the end of each year the priority list will require updating The manager of the program must archive a copy of the master file from the previous year Next the following steps
10. IZATION TOOL SAMPLE INPUT SHEET ccccccccccecececececececesecssececesesecssesessssssssssssssesssssssssses FIGURE 4 PRIORITIZATION TOOL SAMPLE OUTPUT 10 FIGURE 5 THE COUNTERMEASURE SELECTION PROCESS 12 FIGURE 6 COUNTERMEASURE SELECTION TOOL SAMPLE INPUT SHEET 17 FIGURE 7 COUNTERMEASURE SELECTION TOOL TABULATED RESULTS SUMMARY 17 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1 PED ISI PRIORITIZATION TOOL INPUT VARIABLE 6 7 TABLE 2 COUNTERMEASURE SELECTION TOOL SITE SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTIC 13 TABLE 3 COUNTERMEASURE SELECTION TOOL SAFETY RISK INPUTS I E PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES 14 TABLE 4 CATEGORIZED COUNTERMEASURES CONSIDERED IN 16 Aksa ii User Guide for Technical Tools 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1 Background Pedestrians and other vulnerable road users represent an important part of the overall road safety picture Vulnerable road user fatalities in Canada claimed 567 lives in the year 2000 a figure that represents almost 20 of all road fatalities in our country Of these 367 involved pedestrians In addition over
11. a of the City with about 40 occurring in the peak periods and almost 58 happening in off peak times This figure approaches the 15 daily mode share captured by public transit in the City Given this Vulnerable road users VRU include pedestrians cyclists and in line skaters In addition within the pedestrian group special consideration is usually necessary in dealing with the needs of seniors persons with disabilities including manual and motorized wheelchair users and children 2 Zegeer Seiderman Lagerwey Cynecki M Ronkin M Schneider R Pedestrian Facilities Users Guide Providing Safety and Mobility Federal Highway Administration McLean VA 2001 p 12 3 Transportation Association of Canada Pedestrian Crossing Control Manual Ottawa Canada 1998 p l Ogden KW Safer Roads A Guide to Road Safety Engineering Avebury Technical Aldershot England 1996 p 365 5 Projections based on City of Ottawa data and prepared for 2003 Cost of Travel update project User Guide for Technical Tools fact it is not surprising that community interest in pedestrian safety issues is significant in the City 1 3 Goals and Objectives The overall goal of the work proposed in this document is to help improve the ability of the City to address pedestrian road safety issues and in particular to identify high priority locations based on readily available easily collected data and input from
12. and lends easily to a spreadsheet based program We have enhanced the tool by including additional countermeasures gleaned from an extensive literature search carried out on behalf of the City of Ottawa In total over 60 pedestrian oriented safety countermeasures are considered by this tool The complete database of countermeasures and their respective categories are shown in Table 4 The FHWA s PEDSAFE considers two types of data inputs upon generating candidate countermeasures for a given site crash type groups and performance objectives Crash type groups represent the prevalent types of pedestrian vehicle collisions and are analogous to vehicle collision configurations Examples include multiple threat turning vehicle through vehicle bus related etc Performance objectives relate to diagnosed problems with design or operational characteristics at the intersection which are expected to emerge from a detailed engineering study and through a pedestrian and vehicle needs assessment Examples include excessive vehicle speed poor right of way compliance poor visibility and sightlines etc Due to the sparsity of pedestrian collision data and the general lack of details regarding events leading up to pedestrian collisions in collision databases we have elected to focus on performance objectives in the City of Ottawa countermeasure selection system A complete list of the potential performance objectives are outlined in Table 3 Within the to
13. asure selection tool safety risk inputs i e performance objectives Data Input Notes Reduce vehicle speeds This variable is selected if the user needs to address risks associated with excessive operating speeds Examples include reducing intersection curb radii or traffic calming treatments like raised intersections Improve sightlines and visibility This variable is selected if the user needs to address risks associated with limited or blocked sightlines between drivers and pedestrians Example treatments include curb extensions removing on street parking and street furniture and installing median refuge islands Reduce vehicular volume This variable is selected if the user needs to address risks associated with inappropriately high traffic volumes Example treatments include reducing the number of through travel lanes i e a road diet or traffic calming treatments such as speed humps chokers or chicanes Reduce pedestrian exposure This variable is selected if the user needs to address risks associated with pedestrian exposure at long crosswalks Example treatments include signalization enhancements i e a A kussa O 14 User Guide for Technical Tools scramble or exclusive pedestrian phase or a pedestrian refuge i e channelization island or centre median Improve pedestrian access and This variable is selected if the user needs to address risks mobility associated with pedestrian acce
14. crim MRC Human centred Pedestrian Safety Evaluation Program User Guide for Technical Tools A technical user s guide for the analytical tools developed for setting investment priorities pedesinan safety in the City of Ottawa Ottawa January 2010 User Guide for Technical Tools TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 1 BACKGROUND 5 nn 1 1 2 THE CITY OF OTTAWA CONTEXT iii 1 1 3 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ii 2 1 4 THE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY EVALUATION PROCESG cscsessssecececeeseaseecececsessaesesececeeseneseseeeesenseneaeees 2 2 PRIORITIZATION TOOL USER nazio riore zio nio reziario 2 2 1 BACKGROUND 22 KEY STEPS RES 23 DATA REQUIREMENTS AND INPUT VARIABLES cccecceessssscecececeeseuececececeeseaeaeseeccsenesneaeeeeceeesesseaeees 7 2 4 OUTPUT AND RESULTS 2 5 STARTING A NEW YEAR 3 THE COUNTERMEASURE SELECTION L 3 1 INTRODUCTION alla 11 3 2 KEY SIEPS 13 3 3 DATA REQUIREMENTS AND INPUT VARIABLES ccsccsessscesececeesenseeeceesceeseseaeseeececeeeeaeeeeseeesenseaeees 13 3 4 OUTPUT AND RESULTS 17 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1 PEDESTRIAN SAFETY EVALUATION PROCESS 4 FIGURE 2 TYPICAL INTERSECTION AND LOCATION FOR CROSSING OF INTEREST 8 FIGURE 3 PRIORIT
15. e to facilitate data entry for field crews and must not be confused with the master version Upon input of the data the Ped ISI is automatically calculated for each approach leg of each intersection and for each intersection as a whole based on the regression model A safety index value of 1 0 represents a relatively low risk intersection and an index value of 6 0 represents a high risk intersection Prioritize sites The City of Ottawa Ped ISI prioritization tool allows the user to sort by Ped ISI values and by a combination of community name and Ped ISI values Sites with the highest Ped ISI value generally indicate the highest pedestrian safety risk and require further investigation Users are cautioned however that a high Ped ISI does not necessarily indicate a high risk location and a low Ped ISI does not necessarily indicate a low risk location No model can account for all factors and interaction of factors nor the full extent of extenuating circumstances that may exist at particular intersections and the use of local knowledge collision history and engineering judgement is encouraged to further refine the prioritization process The City of Ottawa Ped ISI tool simply provides a way to prioritize locations that may warrant further investigation Akas 1 User Guide for Technical Tools 2 3 Data requirements and input variables A list of data required for the Ped ISI tool is shown in Table 1 and an illustration of a typical inte
16. es indicating a greater priority and need for further investigation The tool has been designed to prioritize intersections based on the composite safety index of the intersection as a whole however supplemental indices for individual crossings within each intersection leg provide an indication of how each crossing is expected to operate from a pedestrian safety perspective In addition the capacity to document a 5 year collision history of both fatal and injury pedestrian collisions at each intersection was added to the process While this collision history does not directly impact the mathematical prioritization process a process that is based on a regression analysis of a number of design and operational characteristics of the intersection and their impact on pedestrian safety performance it provides users of the tool with a means to compare the historical pedestrian collision performance of each intersection with the calculated safety index and adjust priorities to account for extenuating circumstances not captured by the model if one feels this is appropriate Pedestrian collisions tend to be relatively rare occurrences leading to sporadic data with very small sample sizes which in turn limits the ability of a practitioner to draw collisions based on collisions alone however the incorporation of this additional collision information if available will provide city staff with value added data with which to make decisions The Ped ISI was
17. eted A single performance objective or multiple objectives may be selected The tool is then run and a series of countermeasures are User Guide for Technical Tools suggested on a results summary sheet The countermeasures are listed based on category groupings of countermeasures so that similar countermeasures are reported together A separate list of countermeasures is generated for each performance objective specified In some cases where multiple performance objectives are specified the same countermeasure may appear more than once suggesting that the countermeasure may be appropriate for helping to address several different risks present Once again it is stressed that these lists of countermeasures represent those that appear most appropriate to the site based on the characteristics and performance objectives specified after being filtered from the full list of pedestrian countermeasures in the database Careful consideration of each countermeasure is still necessary to determine its appropriateness in context with the site and other countermeasures being considered Also the fact that a given countermeasure is not suggested does not necessarily mean that it can not be applied effectively to the site In any case compatible systems of countermeasures should be developed and implemented according to the detailed application guidelines that are provided in the documentation accompanying this tool The lists of countermeasures provided by this
18. he file naming convention will be important and we suggest as a starting point that the two street names be included in the file name as well as a community name code and year All of the files should be archived electronically and it is suggested that hard copies of the input output sheets for each site also be filed in a common location A kussa O 18 Ottawa MRC
19. members of the community The prioritization methodology contained herein helps to define a process that can be used for programming pedestrian safety investments explicitly and proactively in a consistent and defensible manner without necessarily relying on reactive responses to pedestrian collisions or public complaints The process is taken a step further by providing a tool to help city staff identify candidate countermeasures and obtain guidelines for the application of these countermeasures as part of a detailed engineering study carried out at locations identified through the prioritization and public consultation process More specifically the objectives of this project include the need to e Improve the understanding of the relationship of pedestrian needs and safety issues in the context of signalized and non signalized intersection operations e Develop an overall approach to programming road safety improvements oriented specifically to pedestrian needs at signalized and non signalized intersections and providing as part of its structure a vehicle for community based proactive input to the identification of intersections reguiring detailed study e Help identify candidate countermeasures at intersections slotted for pedestrian safety improvements based on design and operational characteristics and provide heuristic guidance on the appropriate application of those countermeasures 1 4 Thepedestrian safety evaluation process
20. ol we have supplemented the performance objective inputs used to help narrow down the list of appropriate countermeasures from the database of potential countermeasures with site specific operational and design characteristic inputs specified by the user These site specific characteristics which are outlined in detail in Table 2 help to eliminate countermeasures that are not appropriate given the configuration of the site For example many traffic calming measures may not be appropriate on high speed high volume streets signal related countermeasures do not apply at unsignalized intersections etc The performance objective criteria and the design and operational exclusion criteria are based on a combination of the heuristic guidelines for each countermeasure in the literature situations to which particular countermeasures are generally applied in practice and expert judgement Upon discussion with city officials and throughout ongoing application of the tool it may be desirable to modify these criteria in keeping with city policies and best practices To use the tool the practitioner fills in the requisite characteristics about the road intersection and crossing of interest on the input sheet The user then defines the key performance objectives or risk factors that exist at the intersection in other words the undesirable design and operational factors that may exist at the site and towards which countermeasures should be targ
21. om 921 281 281 05 os 05 05 2892 2901 ads Uma PH PH UEMZIN PH puowyory 207 907 ooz zoz aLe 212 9 2 05 os os os viss 8621 1001 INGOIO IYAINYO py PH PH 05 os os os 56 1681 essi 218961 ISIEN 18 neepiy any piempa Buy 18 Bury 692 ozz soz 702 05 05 os os 15 7 8096 LIEZL TUNE Jeunen premp3 soinen any piempa Buy gez uz 1 era 682 982 05 os 05 05 766 eze s 166401 59901 15 Wea 18 15 way 15 way 18 15 way yesiawog on so est 81 09 09 09 09 20 969 1 9 5 10 93 71 HO dueH 4O 93 921 HO pag euuear pag aly auuear sdwey ga 7 1 HO pag OF o o or 1957 3895 eel 0559 10 1 1380 10 0 1 Kemseig 10 10 varesig 1 kemsaig ueeden ynos eseongo 661 02 oze 218 ion tool sample input sheet OL oz oL on S087 aves v16 8E 68 any a
22. piskuuns AlIsIanun VOSUOIG UOSUOIg Asien any uosuolg 297 992 oge 09 09 09 09 882721 18122 81 9 665 8Z 1 SOJEM 10 COUT 10 Sarem JO Bou aujaseg 10 JO py uz 002 661 os os 05 2663 98101 2968 2 ued py Wed PH pony 661 661 sez sez 5 151 onesie Bursso19 05 05 0 05 6002 85 lesz 0959 1609 15 eg is ueg 18 15 lwezulzoz gt uzIziIzuzuzoizIzuzIzuUzIzUzIzUzUZIZUZ 18 yueg 15 195905 paeds paisod wise Ayes Figure 3 Pri un paads TEA quno9 Lav Pda Lav epanonuog RUBIS Suen 019554917 pessoso 19915 WIEMSSOID esegereg Aud 1011009 uopeso7 dew zians Teens CEN nuo User Guide for Technical Tools Figure 4 Prioritization tool sample output sheet Intersection Map Location ADT Count Community Street 1 Street 2 ID X Coord Y Coord Year Collisions Year Intersection PSI Bay Richmond Rd McEwan
23. r enhance illumination at crosswalk area Install curb extensions bulb outs Install median refuge island Prohibit pedestrian crossing physical barrier Ensure pedestrian sidewalk refuge at ends of crosswalk is adequate Ensure sidewalk continuity to from crosswalk location is adequate Install properly designed mountable curb cut ramps Install neighbourhood mini circle roundabout Install a raised intersection Installa modern roundabout at intersection Provide illumination at intersection Reduce curb radii at intersection Install turn lane channelization and refuge pork chop islands Improve right turn slip lane design Remove sightline obstructions e g vegetation utility poles street furniture Remove curb parking adjacent to crosswalk Relocate transit stop to far side of intersection Reduce lane widths Reduce number of lanes on roadway e g road diets redistribute right of way to suit needs of all road users Install bicycle lanes provides buffer improves visibility and may reduce speed due to narrower lanes Introduce on street parking side friction may reduce vehicle speeds Address access management concerns at adjacent to crosswalk Convert one way street to two way flow may reduce vehicle speeds Convert two way street to one way flow simplifies pedestrian workload Install speed hump table on approach to crosswalk Install chicanes on approach to crosswalk Install chokers on approach to crosswalk Install
24. rsection showing the crossing of interest is shown in Figure 2 Table 1 Ped ISI prioritization tool input variable definitions 85 percentile operating speed and posted speed limit km h Speed Traffic Volume Average daily traffic volume Data Input Data Format Notes Signal controlled This variable is 1 if movements of vehicles crossing 1 yes pedestrians at the crossing of interest are controlled by a traffic signal Stop controlled This variable is 1 if vehicle traffic on the leg with crossing 1 yes the crossing of interest must stop for a stop sign Number of lanes 1 2 3 4 etc This variable is the number of through lanes in both directions on the street being crossed at the crossing of interest not including exclusive turn lanes At the stem of 3 leg T intersections which has no through lanes in one or both directions turning lanes are included This variable is the 85 percentile operating speed of vehicles approaching the crossing of interest If different operating speeds are recorded in opposing directions an average value should be input for both directions crossings of interest In the absence of operating speed information the posted speed limit or an estimate of the 85 percentile speed is used This variable is the ADT on the street being crossed in both directions of travel Average 24 hour volumes for each turning movement from City of Ottawa count shee
25. ss and mobility in the vicinity of a crosswalk Example treatments include enhancements to crossing signals and signs proper design of sidewalks and refuge areas or a crossing guard Vehicle and pedestrian right of This variable is selected if the user needs to address risks way compliance associated with right of way compliance issues where drivers don t yield to pedestrians or pedestrians disregard crossing signals Example treatments include improved crosswalk markings or improved enforcement activities Reduce high risk behaviour This variable is selected if the user needs to address risks associated with unnecessary or inappropriate risk taking by pedestrians or drivers Example treatments include automatic pedestrian detection as opposed to push buttons or adding pedestrian signals and markings at unmarked crosswalks being used by pedestrians Once both sets of user inputs have been entered into the tool the pedestrian oriented safety countermeasures that are common to both the site specific criteria and site specific risk objectives are returned Table 4 outlines the full database of countermeasures that may be returned based on the inputs specified grouped by categories for reporting convenience O 15 User Guide for Technical Tools Table 4 Categorized countermeasures considered in tool Signals amp signs Pedestrian facility design Intersection design Roadway design Traffic calming
26. t a review of pedestrian and driver needs for the intersections programmed for improvements within their community in upcoming years Provide feedback to the city regarding proposed countermeasures and design improvements The complete human centered pedestrian safety evaluation process is demonstrated graphically in Figure 1 on the following page Akas Fa User Guide for Technical Tools Figure 1 Pedestrian safety evaluation process mm a Prioritization n Community City of Ottawa Intersection collision database rf N ors MD Compile 7 Community _ additional Interest site data A Proposed Liaise with Pedestrian Safety Evaluation Apply Community Program ranking tool committee i Discuss initial ranked list of sites Community committee may identify additional sites Compile additional Additional vl sites site data Re apply Discuss the final priority list This list will be ranking tool the 5 year Program that will be maintained and updated every year City to identify top ranked site s to be upgraded during current year Diagnosis Site analysis detailed Collect pedestrian Community committee to carry out field review engineering study amp Idriver needs of top ranked site s and identify pedestrian and diagnosis Inventory driver needs This will be submitted to staff to assist during the diagnosis process
27. tool are intended to provide a starting point for this process Figure 5 The countermeasure selection process User Inputs City Staff amp Community Groups Site specific Key Risks amp Characteristics Objectives Countermeasure Database List 1 List 2 Site Appropriate Risk based Countermeasures Countermeasures List 3 Final List of Preferred Countermeasures A kussa O 12 User Guide for Technical Tools 3 2 Key steps Gather data Users of the countermeasure selection tool will need to gather site characteristic information and identify key safety risks that need to be addressed The majority of the input data for the tool will likely have been gathered as part of the detailed engineering study DES and the community group s pedestrian and driver needs assessment A list of specific data requirements is provided in Section 5 3 3 Calculate Candidate Countermeasures Based on the data entered into the tool an initial list of candidate countermeasures is produced based on both the countermeasures appropriateness for the site characteristics and the risks that need to be addressed Detailed Consideration of Countermeasures Starting with the initial lists of countermeasures provided by the tool a practitioner gives careful consideration to each considers other countermeasures if necessary and develops a final system of countermeasures that are compatible
28. ts should be used to derive an ADT for each approach leg individually as ADT can vary substantially between two opposing intersection legs on the same street especially if one is one way and the other is two way Land Use 0 residential area 1 commercial area This variable is 1 if the predominant land use of the surrounding area is commercially developed Commercial development is defined as retail shops banks restaurants gas stations and other service oriented businesses that tend to generate high pedestrian volumes Akas Fe User Guide for Technical Tools Figure 2 Typical intersection and location for crossing of interest Crosswalk of Interest 1991 55017 2 4 Output and results The City of Ottawa Ped ISI prioritization tool will produce a pedestrian intersection safety index for every crosswalk as well as an intersection as a whole This will provide an indication of high risk crossings and high risk intersections that warrant further review based on the design and operational characteristics addressed in the model Figures 3 and 4 provide an example of inputs specified by the user and the resulting list of countermeasures suggested by the tool This space intentionally left blank Akas Fa User Guide for Technical Tools 62 00 662 og 08 6204 68 12 04861 yS any zow yS any popo
29. w less than 70km h Number of lanes lt 4 4 This variable indicates whether the number of of interest is less than four or four or more through lanes on the main street at the crossing A kussa O 13 User Guide for Technical Tools lanes considering both directions of travel On street parking Yes No This variable identifies whether or not there is on street parking upstream of the crossing of interest Illumination present Yes No This variable identifies whether or not illumination is provided at the intersection and crossing of interest Land use Commercial CBD This variable indicates the type of land use Residential Other surrounding the intersection and crossing of interest Target population All pedestrians This variable identifies whether or not any Elderly children vulnerable pedestrian groups are expected to be Special needs routinely using the intersection and crossing of interest School area Yes No This variable indicates whether the intersection and crossing of interest are in the vicinity of a school The second set of user inputs are identified in Table 3 These inputs require the user to simply select the safety risks identified in the detailed engineering study While any number of risks can be specified identifying the two or three most important safety risks or performance objectives generally yields the most meaningful results Table 3 Counterme
30. will have to be taken to update the master file at the start of the new year e Retain all the intersections from the previous year e Remove the sites that were subject to safety improvement in the previous year e Remove the sites that were subject to rehabilitation etc e Review the most recent collision statistics and add sites that experienced fatalities if they are not already on the priority list e Update the priority list with new site data such as new traffic counts lane configuration changes new traffic signals etc e Execute the priority tool to get an initial list of ranked sites e Meet with the various community committees to discuss the preliminary ranked list and gather their comments and input kansa 10 User Guide for Technical Tools 3 THE COUNTERMEASURE SELECTION TOOL 3 1 Introduction Once a practitioner has carried out a detailed engineering study reviewed information submitted by the community group based on the pedestrian and driver needs assessment and diagnosed the issues the countermeasure selection tool can be used to generate a list of candidate countermeasures The City of Ottawa countermeasure selection tool concept is based on the countermeasures and application guidelines provided in FHWA s PEDSAFE Pedestrian Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System and other similar resources PEDSAFE has a strong technical foundation uses readily available data as input to the tool
31. y sheet Install a traffic signal at an unsignalized intersection Install pedestrian signal heads Install countdown pedestrian signal heads destrian signal symbol size for crossing distances greater than 30m increase symbol height from 150mm 6in to 225mm 9in Increase signal phase time assume a reduced walking speed of 0 9m s Implement a scramble pedestrian phase Implement an exclusive pedestrian phase pedestrian walk indication with no concurrent vehicle green phase Implement a leading pedestrian interval LPI signal phase 4 Implement two stage partial crossing 4 Ensure pedestrian push buttons and related signage is located appropriately if applicable Install accessible pedestrian signals APS amp push buttons Implement automatic pedestrian detection at signalized crossings Provide advance left turn phase for vehicles with don t walk indication for pedestrians Install supplementary signage e g additional crossing info watch for pedestrians look both ways etc NI Install supplementary signage at school crossings e g advance warning flashing beacons 17 User Guide for Technical Tools Managing the electronic files that are produced over the course of a year for each community will require a strict protocol to prevent the loss of data The tool is intended to be executed for each site and there may be more than one version for a given site Therefore t
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search