- Published by: M. King
King, M. Pedestrian Safety through a Raised Median and Redesigned Intersections, TRR 1445, TRB, Washington, DC, 2004.
The analysis of this road reconstruction project sought to do two things: to demonstrate innovative qualitative techniques in analyzing traffic calming and pedestrian safety projects, and to quantitatively evaluate the effect of the project on traffic calming and pedestrian safety.
Based on the evidence gather in this study, raised medians, narrowed lanes, timed signals, curbs and sidewalks, and redesigned and signalized intersections have a:
slight effect on vehicle speed,
a sizable effect on pedestrian exposure risk and driver predictability, and
a negligible effect on vehicle volumes and the speed-volume relationship.
These effects translate into tangible cost savings for the township and the general public.
Other indicators for traffic calming and pedestrian safety projects – pedestrian and cyclist volume, vehicle noise, vehicle mix, vehicle travel time, vehicle diversion, and air quality – were also studied but the results were inconclusive or not directly related.
It is hoped that these findings may be combined with other research to better understand the benefits/limitations of raised medians for traffic calming and pedestrian safety purposes.