Approximately 10 percent of Pennsylvanias annual highway fatality victims are pedestrians, and a significant number of pedestrians are also injured every year. To improve pedestrian safety at a relatively low cost, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has a program to provide Yield-to-Pedestrian Channelizing Devices (YTPCD) to municipalities. YTPCD are placed on the centerline of a roadway in advance of marked crosswalks to remind motorists of the necessity of yielding to pedestrians. This paper summarizes an evaluation of these devices that focused on examining motorist and pedestrian behavior. Behavioral data were collected at five sites in each of four different community types (urban, suburban, small city and college town) before and after installation of those devices. Sites included crosswalks at unsignalized intersections and mid-block locations, with and without the devices, to measure both direct and potential spillover effects. Data were analyzed with respect to three hypotheses: whether motorists were more likely to yield to pedestrians, whether pedestrians were less likely to yield to motorists (implying greater pedestrian security), and whether pedestrians were more likely to use crosswalks. The analysis generally showed statistically significant support for all three hypotheses, suggesting improvements in pedestrian safety. The effects were more evident at intersections than at mid-block crossings, and did not appear to be related to community type. Spillover effects were comparable at intersections, but less pronounced at mid-block crossings. The paper recommends consideration of YTPCD where local design conditions and pedestrian safety concerns warrant, and provides recommendations for future research.
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