This article describes a "showcase corridor" that was developed by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Federal Highway Administration and AAA Michigan to highlight specific engineering improvements targeted at improving safety for seniors. The showcase corridor was a 7.3 mile roadway loop in Detroit that incorporates both freeway and arterial roadways. This section of road also includes the only access to the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, an international border crossing. The principles used to identify showcase improvements were based on the following functional limitations of senior drivers: diminishing vision, decreases in motor abilities, and increased probability of making perceptual errors through reduced cognition. The implemented improvements along the corridor focused on signing, traffic signals, pavement markings, pedestrian facilities and navigation issues associated with the international border crossing. MDOT has received many positive comments on the corridor, particularly concerning the clarity and visibility of the new signs. The committee that developed the showcase corridor currently is working to determine whether the application of any of the specific engineering countermeasures can be expanded statewide.
Abstract