Identification of High Pedestrian Crash Locations [Report]

Federal Highway Administration2018PDFTech ReportFitzpatrick, KayAvelar, Raul EduardoTurner, Shawn M.Texas Transportation InstituteUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Turner-Fairbank Highway Research CenterUnited States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Safety Research and DevelopmentUnited StatesPedestrian safetyPedestrian-vehicle crashesHigh risk locationsFHWA-HRT-17-107HRDS-30/03-18(WEB)EDTFH61-13-D-00024Do, AnnAn initial step in reducing the frequency of pedestrian crashes is identifying where they occur or where there is a concern they are likely to occur. As part of a Federal Highway Administration project, the Guidebook on Identification of High Pedestrian Crash Locations was developed to present a process to assist State and local agencies in identifying high pedestrian crash locations such as intersections (points), segments, facilities, and areas.(1) This document summarizes the research efforts to develop the five-step process. Several cities and States were contacted to establish the criteria used to identify and rank high pedestrian crash locations. In all cases, crash data are being used. In some cases, other variables are considered, especially when developing the list of sites for treatments. For example, Los Angeles uses a score that considers the age of the pedestrian and a health and equity index in addition to the number of injury crashes and the number of fatal crashes. Several of the cities create unique lists for intersections, facilities, and areas, recognizing that treatment selection would be different for these element types. The methods used to identify and evaluate sites with a high crash frequency have evolved in recent decades. The availability of geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) for crashes has resulted in the ubiquitous use of geographic information system platforms for displaying the locations and density of crashes on maps.95