Walking has many benefits for pedestrians and the society. Yet, pedestrians are a vulnerable group and safety concerns are a significant barrier in one’s decision to walk. Multiple countermeasures have been proposed to promote pedestrian safety, however, their relative effectiveness is unknown and those effective in reducing pedestrian crashes may be at odds with motorist safety. In this study, the authors seek to evaluate the relative effectiveness of five countermeasures in New York City—increasing the total cycle length, Barnes Dance, split phase timing, signal installation, and high visibility crosswalk—and examine potential trade-offs in their effectiveness in reducing pedestrian crashes and multiple vehicle crashes. The authors adopted a rigorous two-stage design that first identifies a comparison group, corresponding to each treatment group, and then estimates a negative binomial model with the Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) method to further control confounding factors and within-subject correlation. Built environment characteristics are also accounted for. Set in a large urban area, this study suggests that the four signal-related countermeasures are more effective in reducing crashes than high visibility crosswalks. The findings indicate that the types of conflicts and balance the time for different groups of road users at the intersections should be considered so that the improvement of the safety of one group does not compromise that of other groups. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting