Pedestrian Safety Guide for Transit Agencies

About this Guide

This guide is intended to provide transit agency staff with an easy-to-use re­source for improving pedestrian safety. It should prove useful for transit staff who set agency policies, monitor transit performance, determine transit stop locations and schedules, train transit operators, and work with communities on development near transit stations. The guide is also a resource for agency staff who work with other transportation agencies to develop safe access and egress for transit passengers.

Secondary audiences for this guide include transit agency partners who are responsible for pedestrian safety issues—local and state transportation agency staff, developers, transit customers, and community groups interested in improv­ing pedestrian safety near transit stops and stations.

The guide includes:

• Common pedestrian safety issues which are likely to be found near transit stations, bus stops, and other places where transit (bus or rail) is operated.
• Descriptions of specific engineering, education and enforcement programs that have been effectively applied by transit agencies to foster greater pedestrian safety.
• Background information about pedestrian safety and access to transit.
• References to publications, guides and other tools that can be used to identify pedestrian safety problems.

The guide emphasizes the importance of solving pedestrian safety issues through partnerships between transit agencies and state and local transportation agen­cies, municipalities, and consumer interest groups, all of which can affect road­ways and the pedestrian infrastructure.

The guide is divided into five chapters focusing on different elements of pedes­trian safety that are most relevant to transit agencies.

Chapter 1: Tools for Identifying Pedestrian Safety and Access Issues

The first chapter provides tools to identify pedestrian safety and transit access issues. The chapter includes references for additional strategies to identify oppor­tunities for improvement and case study examples of how these tools have been used successfully.

Chapter 2: Policy and Organizational Approaches to Enhancing Pedestrian Safety and Access

The second chapter highlights internal organizational changes and describes ex­ternal partnerships that transit agencies can pursue to improve pedestrian safety. These solutions involve coordination with local and state agencies, transit opera­tors, developers, citizens, and community groups. This chapter integrates case study examples of United States transit agencies that have undertaken successful initiatives to improve pedestrian safety and encourage transit use.

Chapter 3: Actions to Increase the Safety of Pedestrians Accessing Transit

The third chapter presents engineering (physical infrastructure), education, and incentive approaches that can be used to improve the safety of pedestrians walk­ing along roadways, crossing roadways, and waiting at bus or rail stops and stations.

Chapter 4: Background Information on Pedestrian Safety and Access to Transit

The fourth chapter provides background information on pedestrian safety con­cepts, such as straightforward descriptions of issues relating to pedestrian access to transit. This chapter also provides a general overview of pedestrian character­istics and behavior.

Chapter 5: Legal Issues

The final chapter contains examples of laws and legal cases regarding pedestrian access to transit. It includes a summary of several key cases and rulings as they relate to the responsibility of the transit agency for pedestrian safety. Case law is different in each state, therefore transit agencies should understand the laws and precedents in their respective area.

References

Citations from the main body of the guide are provided in this section.