The most basic form of transportation is walking, but it has been overtaken and almost eliminated in some areas by devotion to the automobile, resulting in roads with no sidewalks and dangerous multi-lane intersections. Transportation planners in the region are taking a new look at ways to encourage pedestrians, including a focus on pedestrian safety issues.
Walking, either by itself or in combination with transit, is a way to beat traffic congestion in crowded urban areas. For non-drivers in many areas, walking is sometimes the only option. However, pedestrians are often discouraged by obstacles or dangerous conditions. While statistics show that only three percent of collisions in 1999 on California highways and arterial streets involved pedestrians, pedestrians were involved in 22 percent of the fatal accidents.
In response to a growing number of studies, reports and projects concerned with pedestrian safety in the region, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) established a Regional Pedestrian Safety Task Force in early 2001. Task force members represent planning organizations, traffic and public health departments, law enforcement agencies and community advocacy groups.
There are many pedestrian safety programs and projects already underway at the local level, and the task force and its steering committee have served as forums for exchanging information and exploring ways to coordinate or consolidate efforts in the region. As the next step, the task force sponsored a Pedestrian Safety Summit in October 2001 to comment on draft proposals for a regional pedestrian safety program. Comments helped form a set of recommendations which will be presented to MTC at its December meeting.
To avoid replicating local programs, the recommendations focus on five needs which must be addressed at the regional, or even the state, level:
Data Analysis— MTC will establish a regional program to improve the quality of data available on collisions, providing better figures on the number of pedestrian trips, severity of injuries, and accidents occurring in locations other than public roads, such as parking lots. By mapping data on collisions involving pedestrians, cities can develop a valuable tool to identify and understand pedestrian safety issues in their communities. In one Oakland neighborhood, collision mapping showed a clear concentration of collisions near schools, many affecting children under 14. Data analysis of pedestrian-related collisions by MTC will assist in developing collision maps for every city in the Bay Area that does not already have them. A uniform set of maps will also allow determination of the most hazardous locations for pedestrians.
Technical Assistance—A technical assistance program will assist local agencies with determining the need for new pedestrian safety projects and programs, developing grant applications, and evaluating the effectiveness of existing programs. Some projects, such as countdown signals in San Francisco and illuminated crosswalks in Oakland, have already received similar assistance from MTC's Traffic Engineering Technical Assistance Program.
Resource Guide—As pedestrian safety has emerged as an issue in transportation planning, keeping track of the various activities and suggestions has been difficult. MTC has already developed a guide to existing resources on pedestrian safety. Updates to the guide will be posted on the Web, and will include information on local and national projects and programs, contacts for the agencies and advocacy organizations involved and the appropriate links.
Pedestrian Safety Laws—Education and enforcement, together with engineering, are considered the "building blocks" of pedestrian safety. Existing laws intended to promote pedestrian safety and right of way are often ignored or misunderstood, and enforcement activities may not receive support from the community or the courts. Region-wide education of pedestrians and motorists will aim at increasing understanding and voluntary compliance with the laws.
Funding—Pedestrian safety programs, such as the Safe Routes to School Program, face an uncertain future as budgets tighten. Regional coordination could help MTC and the state Legislature obtain a stable, long-term source of funding for pedestrian safety improvements.
Safety Summit participants were concerned about access issues as well as safety concerns, and they added to the list of draft suggestions. One which was popular was to integrate other MTC-supported projects with pedestrian safety, particularly at the design review phase, so that regional approval of a project also improves safety. Another participant spoke to the need to help cities update their engineering and design standards for transportation projects to bring pedestrian safety into the picture. One person noted that although MTC can mandate good pedestrian access in approving projects, community members don't always understand that their input is needed, or they bring the request too late in the process. Several comments stressed the need to keep communities involved and informed on how to contribute to project planning so that pedestrian safety is included. Participants also supported the concept of a regional funding set-aside for pedestrian safety.
Some of these additional areas may be explored when the task force becomes a permanent subcommittee of the Planning and Operations Committee of the Bay Area Partnership, a group composed of transportation agencies around the region. Approval by the Partnership of the new Regional Pedestrian Committee, made up of staff from local agencies and interested members of the public, was expected at the end of November. Following approval of the task force recommendations by MTC in December, expanded pedestrian safety activities at the regional level could begin as early as January 2002.
Leslie Stewart
"Everyone is a pedestrian sometime and should feel safe."
Opening of mission statement for Regional Pedestrian Safety
Task Force accepted by MTC's Elderly and Disabled Committee, Sept. 2001
For more information:
Jeff Georgevich, MTC, 510-464-7820; jgeorgevich@mtc.ca.gov
A coordinating point for local pedestrian safety groups is the San Francisco Bay Area Pedestrian Education Group (BAYPEDS), 510-428-2534; http://www.baypeds.org