TR 323: Traffic Engineering and

Management

Providing for the

Safety of Pedestrians
and PWD :The most
Vulnerable Road Users
 Outline
 Introduction
 Pedestrian characteristics
 Pedestrian facilities
 Characteristics of People with Disability (PWD) and
designing for them
 Designing for the older pedestrian / pedestrian with
reduced mobility
 Pedestrian safety factors and treatments
Provision and effectiveness of pedestrian
facilities
 Pedestrians at Traffic Signals
 Actions to ensure adequate provision for
pedestrians and PWD

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 Summary
The needs and characteristics of the
vulnerable road users and PWD when
using the road as pedestrians are
presented
The facilities required by the ordinary
pedestrians and the adaptations
required by the PWD are identified
Actions to be taken in order to ensure
adequate provision of the facilities
and their compliance to barrier free
movement for PWD as required by the
law are outlined
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 Introduction
Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users
(VRU)
Particularly vulnerable are child pedestrians and
the elderly
Cyclists (pedal and motor) are also vulnerable
People with Disability (PWD) are even more
vulnerable when they use the road as pedestrians
They are vulnerable when they collide with a
motorised vehicle because their only protection is
the clothing on their bodies
We need to consider how Road Safety
Engineering can facilitate their safe mobility and
adapt the infrastructure

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 Pedestrian safety - gender
The elderly are more likely to suffer from
serious injury
Males are more represented in pedestrian
crashes
Children are involved in crashes while near
their homes or schools
Psychologically children especially below
ten are not able to cope in traffic
Alcohol impairment is a major factor in
crashes involving adult pedestrians

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 Pedestrian
Characteristics

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 Pedestrian Characteristics
To effectively plan and design pedestrian
facilities, an understanding of the typical
pedestrian is needed.
Pedestrian walking speed range from 0.8 m/s
to 1.8 m/s
The older pedestrians, pregnant women and
the sick tend to walk with speeds at the
lower end of the spectrum
Pedestrians tend to walk faster when
crossing the road away from signalized
crossings
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 Walking distance 1.5 to 3 km to work
To catch a bus will walk up to 1 km
Pedestrian volumes are influenced by
such transient conditions as weather
Pedestrians tend to walk in a path
representing the shortest distance
between two points: therefore crossings
in addition to those at junctions may be
appropriate
Pedestrians are very sensitive to
security and pollution
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 Pedestrians also have a basic resistance to
changes in grade or elevation when crossing
roadways and therefore underutilization of grade
separated pedestrian crossing facilities is
common
Security is an important issue in underpasses
A pedestrian’s age is an important factor in
traffic: Very young pedestrians are often
careless in traffic from either inexperience or
exuberance

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 Older pedestrians may be affected by
limitations in sensory, perceptual, cognitive
or motor skills
Pedestrian collisions can also be related to
the lack of sidewalks, which forces
pedestrians to share the travelled lane with
motorised traffic
Sidewalk construction should be considered
as part of any urban/suburban street
improvement (make street to be complete)

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 Pedestrian facilities
Pedestrian facilities include:
sidewalks,
Crosswalks -raised or un-raised
pedestrian crossings
Traffic control features,
Grade separated crossings
Kerb cuts (depressed kerbs and
ramped sidewalks)
Ramps for the older walkers and
persons with mobility impairments
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 Pedestrian facilities also include:
Bus stops or other loading areas,
Sidewalks on grade separations,
The stairs, escalators, or
elevators related to these
facilities
Refuge islands

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 Grade separated facilities
Overpass (pedestrian bridge) or Underpass
Where speed or volume of traffic is high
Effectiveness depends on usage by
pedestrians
People don’t use them if they add
significantly to travel time – unless
enforced by pedestrian barrier or
otherwise.
It is important that steps are NOT used to
avoid inconvenience to PWD: ramps with
gentle slopes are preferred

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 Pedestrian crossings : Explicit ROW at mid-block
Types include:
Zebra crossings – pedestrian must establish
right of way by stepping into the crossing.
Raised zebra crossing is more effective –
speed reduction
Pelican crossing – pedestrian press button to
request green for pedestrian.
Puffin crossing - senses the approach of a
pedestrian and gives right of way
Marked cross walk – with or without
pedestrian priority

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 Characteristics of
People with
Disability (PWD)

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 Characteristics of People with
Disability (PWD)
Highway designs with features for persons
with disabilities can greatly enhance the
mobility of this sector of our society.
To adequately provide for persons with
disabilities, the designer should be aware
of the range of disabilities to expect so
that the design can appropriately
accommodate them.
Designer must adequately review relevant
guidelines for proper compliance with
applicable rules and regulations
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 (a) Mobility Impairment
Some persons with mobility impairments
are able to walk without assistive
devices, but slowly and with difficulty.
Other persons with mobility impairments
may need aid from braces, canes,
crutches, wheelchairs, or scooters.
Stairs, kerbs, and raised channelizing
islands are the major roadway
obstructions to these pedestrians.

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 Design modifications should provide
ramps rather than stairs or curbs
The front wheels of a wheelchair are
very sensitive to obstacles; any bump
may impair the progress of a wheelchair
and may increase the possibility that a
user will be propelled out of the
wheelchair. Close attention must be
given to the surface of sidewalks and
crossing facilities used by PWD
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 At signalized intersection the
pedestrian phase should be
announced by the green man as
well as with audible sounds to aid
those with visual impairment

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 c) Developmental
Impairments

Many people with developmental

impairments are unable to drive and,
therefore, often travel as pedestrians
To help such pedestrians, including young
children, pedestrian signals or other
pedestrian-related facilities should be
simple, straightforward, and consistent in
their meaning

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 d) Hearing impairments
People with hearing impairments
may not benefit from the traffic
sounds when moving in traffic
Drivers should be made aware
when they are traversing areas
with a number of road users with
this impairment likely to be
crossing the road

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 Designing for the older
pedestrian / pedestrian with
reduced mobility
Use simple designs that minimize crossing
widths
Where separate turning lanes are
appropriate consider designs that will assist
older pedestrians, such as 3.3-m lane widths
Assume lower walking speeds
Provide median refuge islands of sufficient
width at wide intersections
Provide lighting and eliminate glare sources
at complex locations

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 Provide adequate advance warning or
guide signs for situations that could
surprise older drivers or pedestrians
Provide oversized, retro-reflective signs
with suitable legibility
Consider increasing sign letter size and
retro-reflectivity to accommodate
individuals with decreased visual acuity

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 Use properly located signals with large
signal indications
Provide enhanced markings and delineation
Use repetition and redundancy in design
and in signing (to remind them)

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 Pedestrian Safety - Factors
 Visibility e.g. parked vehicles blocks on coming
vehicle
 Near bus stops – pedestrian catching a bus or
walking in-front of a bus
 At zebra or pelican crossing – pedestrian error or
driver non-compliance
 Individual vehicle in a traffic stream travelling
too fast
 Pedestrian crashes are more prevalent during
peak hours
 Pedestrian crashes are concentrated on roads
with heavy traffic without adequate provisions
for pedestrians

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 Pedestrian Safety Treatments
Focus on road safety engineering treatments:
(measures other than those involving vehicles,
education, legal)
Segregation – spatial separation of
motorised traffic and pedestrian
networks
Separation – within a shared vehicle and
pedestrian space by allocation of time
(pedestrian signal) or space (side walks)
Integration: shared use of facility e.g.
pedestrian priority areas where vehicle
speeds are limited to 10 km/hr

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 Provision and effectiveness
of pedestrian facilities
• Provide according to local
guidelines/practice (warrants)
• Footpaths and sidewalks: should
be provided except where traffic
flows indicate otherwise e.g. on
rural roads away from settlements.
• There is need to provide for
security in the night if the
footpaths are segregated.

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Refuge Islands: Relatively safe areas at
the road centre, appropriate where
pedestrian crossing movements are
concentrated and road width allows.
Installation of refuges near pedestrian
generators has been reported to reduce
pedestrian crashes by 60%
Kerb-extension or build-out – help
reduce crossing distance
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 Pedestrian barriers: fence out pedestrians
from the roadway, it is more effective if the
fence is long. Used in conjunction with:
Pedestrian overpasses
Where vehicle speeds are high
High volume of child pedestrians
Near major pedestrian generators
Near bridges
On high speed roads with little
separation between the roadway and
sidewalk

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 Pedestrians at Traffic Signals
If Pedestrians are not recognized they have to
observe the vehicular signals
Pedestrians may have concurrent phasing –
walk parallel to vehicular movement
Exclusive pedestrian phase – no potential
conflict with any vehicular movement
Many traffic signals have no exclusive
pedestrian phase because of the reduction of
the intersection (vehicular) capacity!!
Increased safety is associated with reduction
in number red (jay) walkers (attitude!)

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 Pedestrian Malls
The ultimate in the segregation of
pedestrian provision – e.g. shopping mall
They have safety benefits but rarely
provided on safety grounds alone
Often they are for shopping convenience
and recreation purposes (environmental
amenity)

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 Actions necessary to ensure adequate
provision for Pedestrian facilities and
for PWD
Recognition of walking as a mode of
transport in the national transport policy is
necessary: Walking is a mode of transport
on its own right and as complementary
mode to public transport and all other
modes of transport.
The walking mode should be allocated
adequate space within road reserves
Reserves for footpaths independent of
roads should be provided during the urban
planning process

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 Road Authorities including TANROADS ,
City and Municipal Councils and District
Councils should have budgets for
constructing and maintaining foot paths

Outstanding regulations , standards

and codes for providing universal access
to the road infrastructure under the
PWD Act 2010 should be drafted and
published.
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 The regulations should include
procedures to ensure compliance by
road authorities/urban councils
Standards for pedestrian facilities
and facilities for PWD may be
included in the urban road design
manual (not yet developed!)
The process should involve the
stakeholders particularly PWD
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 THANK YOU

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