The presented study has identified and developed a wide range of potential countermeasures for targeted application to common pedestrian crash problem types. An important inference from this study is that few existing pedestrian safety strategies and countermeasures stand out as clearly successful. While progress in reducing serious pedestrian crashes in Australia has been very promising since 1990, observed reductions appear to have resulted from the general reduction in serious crashes (e.g. due to drinking/driving and speed camera initiatives), rather than programs targeted specifically at pedestrians. With this in mind, the project, while setting out to achieve specific objectives, sought to be innovative in generating solutions to Melbourne's long-standing arterial road crash problems. In particular, because conventional approaches appear to have had little direct effect, countermeasure options have not been constrained by the traditional views and established practices for managing traffic, for providing public transport services or for land use development along Melbourne's arterial roads. This study aimed to capitalise on the successes of accident black spot programs, undertaken in Victoria, interstate and overseas, which have shown that targeting improvements to hazardous locations cost-effectively reduces casualty crashes. The two main aims of this project were to: (1) systematically investigate locations and location types with a high concentration of pedestrian crashes over several years; and (2) identify pedestrian crash countermeasures for the investigated locations and to recommend which countermeasures have potential for widespread application to other locations with like-problems. (A)
Abstract