Publication Details

Low-cost pedestrian safety zones: An eight-step handbook

Type: Paper

Author(s): Dunlap and Associates, Inc., ; UNC Highway Safety Research Center, ; Center for Education and Research in Safety,

Publisher: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Url: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/67984

Publication Date: Jul-2023

Number: DOT HS 813 478

Address: Washington, DC

Abstract: City transportation staff are always seeking ways to make our communities safer for people walking. They look fornew ideas in a variety of areas—engineering, enforcement, legislation, training, and public education to support a cul-ture of road safety. Countermeasures may be chosen for implementation at sites that have experienced high numbersof crashes, at locations with features that are associated with high crash risk, or systemically throughout a jurisdic-tion. Many pedestrian safety strategies, such as constructing sidewalks or installing pedestrian signals, are time-con-suming and/or expensive to implement. This can make it difficult for them to be widely and quickly implemented,which is unacceptable in places with urgent safety needs. The availability of a lower-cost and quicker-to-implementapproach to selecting and implementing pedestrian countermeasures offers a valuable additional tool and allowspractitioners to address the pedestrian safety problem in smaller “bites,” focused in areas with great potential to haveimpact on pedestrian crashes. As such it can more quickly offer solutions in traditionally underserved areas. That isexactly the concept of the low-cost pedestrian safety zone.