Looking Out for Pedestrians

Tobey — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:24:47 +0000

Beacons, Pavement Markings Improve Crosswalk Safety

It can feel like you’re taking your life into your own hands when you cross some of Texas’ wide, high-speed roads. Sometimes the only thing that alerts drivers to a crosswalk is the thin white lines on the pavement. That’s not much to stand between you and a vehicle hurtling toward you.

Researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) are trying to make things easier for both you and the driver coming toward you. Two recent research studies on pedestrian crossings have aimed at making crosswalks safer and more efficient. The first study, involving pedestrian hybrid beacons, evaluated crash data before and after installation of the treatment, while the second study examined the visibility of different types of crosswalk pavement markings.

“Both studies are influencing national standards and making conditions better for pedestrians,” says Kay Fitzpatrick, manager of TTI’s Roadway Design Program, who led the studies.

Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon

The HAWK treatment was the forerunner of the pedestrian hybrid beacon, which is helping make crosswalks safer for communities across the country.

In 2009, the pedestrian hybrid beacon was added to the national Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) document that defines standards for installing and maintaining traffic control devices on public roadways. TTI had an integral role in getting the device recognized for the safety it brings to pedestrian crossings.

The path to getting the safety device included in the manual began in the late 1990s when Dr. Richard Nassi, transportation administrator with the City of Tucson (now retired), developed the predecessor of the pedestrian hybrid beacon, the High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) pedestrian beacon. Today’s pedestrian hybrid beacon, like the HAWK treatment, has more than one cue to alert drivers to the presence of the crosswalk. At the crosswalk, the pedestrian pushes a button and activates the beacon. A flashing yellow light and then a steady yellow light warn drivers that they will need to stop. When the light turns red, the pedestrian can safely cross the street.

The effort to gain widespread use of the pedestrian hybrid beacon culminated in an FHWA study to evaluate the safety effectiveness of the device. TTI performed a before-and-after study to determine how the device actually worked in the field.

“We performed a statistical evaluation of crash data from Tucson, typically three years before installation of the treatment and then three years after installation,” says Fitzpatrick. “We found a 29 percent reduction in total crashes and a 69 percent reduction in pedestrian crashes.”

This dramatic reduction in crashes proved to FHWA how important the pedestrian hybrid beacon can be to pedestrian safety. “Many agencies are afraid to try new devices because of the possibility of increased crashes. TTI’s crash study showed that the pedestrian hybrid beacon reduced not only pedestrian crashes but also total crashes, making agencies more willing to try the device and invest money in it. You can depend on the quality of the work done at TTI,” says Mike Cynecki, retired traffic engineering supervisor with the City of Phoenix.

“We’re helping change national policies to make it safer for pedestrians, and also to make it easier for them to cross at clearly marked crosswalks,” says Fitzpatrick.

Crosswalk Markings

A second TTI study evaluated pavement markings at crosswalks for possible inclusion in the next edition of the MUTCD. Research focused on determining the relative daytime and nighttime visibility of crosswalk marking patterns.

“We looked at the types of markings currently in use at crosswalks and narrowed our focus down to the three most common patterns for investigation,” says Fitzpatrick. “We were very fortunate that Texas A&M University allowed us to place temporary pavement markings around campus as part of this study.”

Volunteer drivers set out in TTI’s instrumented vehicle, drove through campus on a predetermined route, and told the accompanying researcher the moment they first saw the crosswalk pavement markings. The route was driven during daytime and nighttime, and clockwise and counterclockwise, to reduce possible bias.

TTI studied three crosswalk marking treatments: bar pairs (left), continental markings (center) and transverse markings (right). Researchers found that bar pairs and continental markings performed better than transverse markings.

The resulting data allowed the research team to calculate the detection distance for each crosswalk and then determine how each type of treatment performed.

“Bar pairs and continental markings were visible from a longer distance than transverse markings,” says Fitzpatrick. “This is intuitive because they’re wider than transverse markings. What we were interested to see is that bar pairs performed as well as continental markings. Bar pairs use less marking material, and that can save agencies significantly over several crosswalks.”

The research effort was so successful that a paper about it won the D. Grant Mickle Award for the outstanding paper in operations and maintenance at the Transportation Research Board’s 90th Annual Meeting in January. (See the “TTI at TRB” article for more information about this award.)

TTI Bikes!

TTI is kicking off a bike-sharing program on the Texas A&M University campus. The effort is designed to demonstrate and promote the benefits of alternative transportation modes — and hopefully inspire others to get on board.

Shawn Turner (left) is leading the TTI Bikes! effort to encourage employees to use bicycles on campus, rather than motor vehicles.

Participants in the program are required to complete a bicycle safety training course, wear helmets, and obey all traffic control devices and regulations. The TTI program includes four bicycles: two each at the CE/TTI Tower and the State Headquarters and Research Building. Participants can check out a bicycle and then return it within 24 hours.

Employees can use the bicycles for interoffice transport and courier service on campus, rather than using an agency or personal vehicle. Bikers benefit from exercise, an environmentally friendly alternative to driving, and the ability to park closer to buildings (something always welcome on a college campus).

Bike-sharing programs are catching on in many U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C., San Antonio, Austin — and now College Station.

“Many agencies are afraid to try new devices because of the possibility of increased crashes. TTI’s crash study showed that the pedestrian hybrid beacon reduced not only pedestrian crashes but also total crashes, making agencies more willing to try the device and invest money in it. You can depend on the quality of the work done at TTI.”
Mike Cynecki,
retired traffic engineering supervisor with the City of Phoenix

For more information:

Kay Fitzpatrick
(979) 845-7321
k-fitzpatrick@tamu.edu

TTI Research Honored at TRB Annual Meeting

Chris Sasser — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:38:16 +0000

D. Grant Mickle Award

TTI Executive Associate Agency Director Katie Turnbull, Research Team Members Kay Fitzpatrick, Susan T. Chrysler, Vichika Iragavarapu, and Eun Sug Park

A prestigious “best paper” award was given to a team of Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers during the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 90th Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. The D. Grant Mickle Award for the outstanding paper in operations and maintenance was awarded to Kay Fitzpatrick, Susan T. Chrysler, Vichika Iragavarapu, and Eun Sug Park, for their paper, “Detection Distances to Crosswalk Markings: Transverse, Continental, and Bar Pairs,” published in Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2250.

“This project was a wonderful example of how colleagues with different talents can team together and generate an extremely successful product. The enthusiasm and desire to produce an exceptional project was infectious. We were all willing to improve our portion of the project so that the final product was high quality along with, of course, being usable by the profession.

After the conclusion of the project, an engineer from another state sent an email complimenting the team regarding the usability of the findings. This email reinforced the value of the research and for us, was particularly gratifying in that our work is being appreciated and used. The results are influencing policy decisions regarding pedestrian crosswalk markings on a national level.

The process to earn the Mickle award includes multiple steps. To have several peer review committees select this paper as the best is humbling and overwhelming. We appreciate having our work recognized by our peers.” Award winning research team

The D. Grant Mickle Award was established in 1976 and may be given annually for the outstanding paper published in the field of operation, safety, and maintenance of transportation facilities. It honors the fifth executive director, who was later appointed a member of the Board’s Executive Committee and became its 33rd chairman.

Dresser Receives McKelvey Award

L-R: Greg Casto, Vice President AvAirPros; George Dresser, Retired TTI Senior Research Scientist; Peter Mandle, Aviation Group Chair from LeighFisher.

Retired Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Scientist George Dresser received the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) 2012 Francis X. McKelvey Award during a reception on January 23, 2012, in Washington, DC.

Dresser retired from TTI in 2004, following a 35-year career, 25 of which he served as manager of the Transportation Planning Program. Early in his career, Dresser worked with the Texas Aeronautics Commission and the Texas Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division, where he developed the methodology for state airport system planning still used today. His work dates back to the early 1970s, when he was instrumental in developing the state’s first Texas Aeronautical Facilities Plan.

As part of his work in aviation systems planning, he helped pioneer the regional planning meeting process, where airport planners visit airports in the system and hold public meetings in the airport communities to discuss the needs of local airports, their role in the community, and how stakeholders can help each other in building and developing the local, regional and state economies.

Prior to his work with airports, Dresser began his aviation career in the U.S. Navy as a naval flight officer. He retired as a captain in the U.S. Naval Reserves with 3,500 hours of flight time in the RA5C Vigilante, the SP2H Neptune, and P3A/B Orion aircraft.

In his nomination, TTI Director Dennis Christiansen noted that Dresser’s “commitment and contributions in both research and the development of professionals make him an ideal candidate to receive this award.”

Texas A&M Transportation Institute» Crosswalk