Pedestrian safety at rail public transit crossings is critically important. Improved treatments and guidance for safe and effective pedestrian crossings are needed since there is a lack of consistency for rail transit crossing treatments; rail transit services (light rail, commuter rail, and streetcar) are being added in many areas; the number of pedestrians has increased; and the ubiquitous use of cell phones and other electronic devices distracts pedestrians or limits their ability to hear audible warnings. TCRP Project A-38, which was conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, was undertaken to develop a guidebook for safe and effective treatments for pedestrian crossings for rail public transit services, including light rail, commuter rail, and streetcar services. The treatments are effective options considering rail vehicle speed and frequency, geometry of the crossing, sight lines for pedestrians and rail vehicle operators, operating environment, and characteristics of pedestrians, including pedestrians with disabilities. The contractor’s final report (TCRP Web-Only Document 63) presents the research activities conducted to develop the Guidebook including a literature review, an investigation of online transit crash databases, an online survey of practitioners, telephone interviews to obtain further details, and site visits. The key research activity was visiting several public transit rail services crossings within select regions. These visits provided the opportunity to observe the challenges faced by pedestrians at public transit rail crossings and included observations made during site visits to Boston, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; and Los Angeles, California. TCRP Report 175: Guidebook on Pedestrian Crossings of Public Transit Rail Services presents a wide array of engineering treatments to improve pedestrian safety for three types of public transit rail services: light rail, commuter rail, and streetcar. The Guidebook is a resource that addresses key pedestrian safety issues associated with public transit rail services; presents pedestrian crossing issues associated with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Americans with Disabilities Act; summarizes readily available decision flowcharts used to make decisions regarding pedestrian treatments at rail crossings; presents information for 34 pedestrian treatments used at rail crossings, grouped into eight appropriate categories; and includes four case studies that examine specific decisions with respect to pedestrian rail crossings. The Guidebook is supplemented by a final research report, TCRP Web-Only Document 63: Treatments Used at Pedestrian Crossings of Public Transit Rail Services (available on the TRB website). This report presents the methods and results from the detailed literature review, data analysis, industry survey, interviews, and site visits. The research deliverables will be useful to transit agencies that provide light rail, commuter rail, and streetcar services; local departments of transportation; and urban planners seeking to improve the safety of pedestrians who use transit services, as well as others crossing public transit rails who are not transit patrons. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting