Metuchen Crosswalk Evaluation: Pedestrian Safety Recommendations

Transcription

1 Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center Metuchen Crosswalk Evaluation: Pedestrian Safety Recommendations prepared for: Borough of Metuchen prepared by: Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in association with: New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Council Design Subcommittee May 2010

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3 Acknowledgements Thank you to the members of the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Council Design Subcommittee for accompanying us to Metuchen. Thank you to D.A. Lebar, Captain Rentenberg, Officer Velez and Kathy Elliot for inviting and hosting the NJBPAC Design Subcommittee on behalf of the Borough. This report is sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Transportation with funding by the Federal Highway Administration. All photos are courtesy of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center and Jerry Foster of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance.

4 Introduction Pedestrian safety is an issue that continues to receive attention in New Jersey. Pedestrian fatalities have increased in 2009 from previous years, even while the total number of crash fatalities (vehicular and pedestrian) was at its lowest point in more than a decade. 1 Efforts such as the new stop and stay stopped law and the increasing number of police departments participating in crosswalk enforcement show that decision makers on all levels of government have taken notice. The Borough of Metuchen is among those Figure 1. Metuchen's Downtown making efforts to increase pedestrian safety. On April 15 th, 2010, members of the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Council s (NJBPAC) design subcommittee met in Metuchen to evaluate a crosswalk and make recommendations to improve pedestrian safety, at the borough s request (See Appendix A for list of participants). The group assessed the crosswalk, situated on Main Street at Pennsylvania Avenue immediately adjacent to the Metuchen Train Station, as well the Main Street corridor from the Borough Hall a few blocks north of the site to the post office two blocks south. After visiting the site, the group met at the Borough Hall to discuss findings and develop recommendations for the borough to improve crossing. Background The Borough of Metuchen, known as the hole in the doughnut due to its location in the middle of the township of Edison, is located within Middlesex County. The borough s population is approximately 13,000, of which more than 1,000 take public transportation to work 2. The Metuchen train station, situated on one of the busiest transit corridors in the county, the Northeast Corridor, and next to one of the busiest NJ Transit stops on the line, Metropark, handles approximately 4,000 boardings a day with more than 50 trains heading towards Penn Station and 40 towards Trenton. There are also three bus lines with stops within a few feet of the crossing, NJ Transit s 810, 813 and 819 lines. The New Jersey Department of Transportation recognized Metuchen s focus on transit and, in 2002, designated the borough as a transit village, which provides financial incentive to redevelop and revitalize the areas 1 shows that nj must maintain focus on pedestrian deaths/ US Census Journey to Work:

5 around transit stops. The Transit Village designation helped to spark the redevelopment of a former supermarket into The District at Metuchen, a mixed use complex located less than a half mile from the train station that is scheduled to break ground this summer. With all of the transit users in Metuchen s downtown, in addition to shoppers and other townspeople, pedestrian safety is critical. The borough takes a lot of pride in maintaining its identity as a walkable and livable community. It is walkable in the literal sense, in that it has a total land area of 2.7 square miles and is just over two miles long at its widest point. In order to make full use of its intimate layout, Metuchen teamed up with the Robert Wood Johnson foundation to develop Walk Metuchen, a program of strategically designed routes and markers that encourages walking to reduce traffic and improve community health 3. The routes were designed to ensure that nearly Figure 2. Metuchen Train Station every home in the borough is within a quarter mile of one of the routes. These efforts are part of the reason why, in 2004, NJ Future presented Metuchen with its Smart Growth Award for 20 years of commitment to the health and vitality of its town center 4. Crosswalk of Concern The crosswalk being evaluated is located on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Main Street, immediately adjacent to several access stairways for the Metuchen Train Station as well as a station parking lot; several other station parking lots are located in the immediate vicinity. Leading up to the crosswalk, the road passes underneath the train tracks, dropping several feet as it passes under the bridge and limiting the sight lines of northbound traffic to the crosswalk. The site is within the Borough s downtown area, and is also Figure 3. Crosswalk with malfunctioning in pavement flashing lights used by pedestrians walking through town to get to one of the local restaurants or shops. Three blocks to the north of the site is the Borough Hall building, two blocks to the south is a post office. There is also lots of vehicular traffic traveling through NJ Future NJBPAC Borough of Metuchen Crosswalk Evaluation 2

6 the crosswalk, as Main Street is a county road that provides a direct connection to Interstate 287 and US Route 1 which, in turn, provide quick access to the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. Previous efforts have been made to improve pedestrian safety at the intersection. Several years ago, inpavement flashing lights were installed as a means of allowing crossing pedestrians to alert drivers, especially at night, of their presence. However, those lights recently failed, and no longer provide an indication to drivers. This situation is particularly dangerous, as signage still warn drivers about the device, which may lead them to assume that no pedestrian is present when the lights are not flashing. Other pedestrian safety measures include a colored brick paved crosswalk, in road stop for pedestrian signs, and a bump out that narrows the street to slow vehicles and provide a shorter crossing for pedestrians. The downtown corridor has history of pedestrian incidents. Since 2003 there have been eight pedestrian crashes within a quarter mile of the crosswalk. Most recently, in December of 2009, a man was struck in the crosswalk after exiting a train on a weekday evening when a car on the northbound side of the street stopped to let him pass while a car on the southbound side did not. In reaction to the incident residents complained of the poor conditions at the crosswalk, some calling for speed bumps and better lighting and other cited the malfunction in pavement lights as a possible cause. Methodology The project group met to examine the site on a weekday morning, after the morning commuting rush had ended. Upon convening at the site the group was addressed by the Chair of the Metuchen Traffic and Transportation subcommittee, DA Lebar, who provided a history of the crosswalk and why Metuchen was interested in a redesign to improve pedestrian safety. He stressed that failure of the inpavement flashing lights and the recent pedestrian crash as the primary catalysts for evaluation of the area. The borough was also represented by Captain Rentenberg of the Metuchen Police Department and the borough engineer, Kathy Elliott of Birdsall Engineering. After speaking with Mr. Lebar, the group thoroughly examined the site, pointing out and taking pictures of several of the safety issues present (See appendix B for site photos). The group also identified issues further along the corridor that directly impacted the conditions at the intersection. Once the group was finished at the site they reconvened at a meeting room to discuss the issues that were pointed out and to develop a list of recommendations for the borough to improve pedestrian safety along the corridor. Existing Conditions The group determined that the following issues contributed to the problems that the borough has experienced at the crossing. The group noticed a heavy flow of traffic along the corridor, including pedestrian, bicyclists, cars and trucks and buses. Many of the vehicles coming into the Borough are still driving with a highway mentality. NJBPAC Borough of Metuchen Crosswalk Evaluation 3

7 NJ Transit buses make frequent stops in the area, in some cases stopping in places where there was no indicated bus stop. Vehicles stop near the crosswalk to drop off/pick up passengers at the train station. As a result, vehicles often weave around the stopped vehicles. This situation is hazardous to pedestrians because they can be screened by the stopped vehicles and the weaving vehicles are often distracted and not paying attention to pedestrians in the area. The speed limit is not posted in the vicinity of the crosswalk and, thus is likely unclear to motorists; the actual speed limit is between mph along that corridor. It is recommended that an investigation be initiated to consider lowering the speed limit in order to improve safety for pedestrians. There is an over abundance of signage along the northbound lane of Main Street leading up to the crosswalk. This makes it difficult for drivers to digest all of the information without taking his or her attention off of the road. Pedestrian signage is obstructed by tree branches at a number of spots along the Main Street corridor. The signage at the crosswalk is deficient, incorrect and not MUTCD compliant. There is only one in road Stop for pedestrian sign rather than two signs bracketing the crosswalk so that drivers from both directions are alerted to the crosswalk. The Flashing Lights Mark Ped Xing does not point to the spot where the driver can expect to see lights. It instead points to a spot where the driver should stop. There is a steep dip in the roadway, as it travels underneath the track overpass, which limits sight distance to the crosswalk from the drivers until they are very close to it. The in pavement flashing lights are broken. This creates an additional safety hazard as drivers may assume that the crosswalk is clear of pedestrians when the light is not flashing, which is especially dangerous at night. Even when functional, the lights can be hard to see in the daytime. Striping at the crosswalk is faded; the only remaining marking is the colored brick which is often hard for drivers to notice. Parking is too close to the crosswalk, preventing drivers from clearly seeing pedestrians waiting to cross. Cars frequently stop to turn in to the alleys and parking lots near the crosswalk, creating a confusing traffic pattern. Recommendations The following items are suggested in order to mitigate some of the issues that were pointed out by the group and increase pedestrian safety along the Main Street Corridor. As the corridor is located on a county road and, thus, is under the jurisdiction of Middlesex County, it is important that the borough coordinate with the county regarding any improvements. Pedestrian safety measures should be considered on a corridor wide basis, as opposed to examining individual sites. Drivers should be made aware when entering the corridor, in this NJBPAC Borough of Metuchen Crosswalk Evaluation 4

8 case it should start near Borough Hall, that it is a pedestrian safety zone and that they have a duty maintain a slow speed and stop for pedestrians crossing in crosswalks. o Install uniform high visibility crosswalks throughout the corridor o Install appropriate, MUTCD compliant pedestrian crossing signage to bring greater motorist attention to crosswalk locations o Paint Millburn Pedestrian Stencil on the pavement throughout Main Street to reinforce that it is a pedestrian safety corridor MUTCD compliant signs marking the pedestrian safety zone along the corridor should be placed near the post office and Borough Hall. The overhead sign post near the post office could be used for this purpose, as well as the platform side facing the roadway. Another in street stop for pedestrians sign should be placed at the crosswalk to ensure that drivers can see the signs from either direction. The current sign that is supposed to indicate the location of the crosswalk should be replaced with MUTCD compliant pedestrian crossing signage (W11 2 & W16 7P) at the appropriate location (at the crosswalk). A study should be done to determine if the speed limit should be lowered, considering the narrow lane widths, the heavy pedestrian traffic and the frequent bus stops. The speed limit should also be posted in a conspicuous place near the crosswalk. Trees along the corridor should be trimmed back to make sure they do not obscure signage or block light from illuminating the crosswalks. Excess signage leading up to the crosswalk should be removed/consolidated to reduce driver distraction. Crosswalks should be restriped with high visibility thermoplastic. Bus passengers should be encouraged to cross at a crosswalk when approaching or leaving the bus stop through signage and education of passengers should be considered for any local safety campaigns. The Borough should engage the police department in enforcing driver duties to pedestrians at crosswalks. The Design Subcommittee recommends that the Borough PD enroll in the next Pedestrian Safety Enforcement training workshop to learn recommended best practice for enforcing pedestrian right of way. Similar efforts in New Jersey have shown that enforcement of crosswalk laws lead to increased driver yield to pedestrian rates. Light levels should be evaluated to ensure that the crosswalk is adequately illuminated at night. Illumination levels should be increased near crosswalks to safety levels rather than the current lighting which seems to be primarily for aesthetics. The borough should investigate the feasibility of adding a bulb out to the crosswalk, across from where the current bulb out is located. The borough should coordinate with the county about traffic calming along Main Street. Traffic calming done in isolation is not as effective as a well thought out corridor plan. A mix of vertical and horizontal elements could improve safety for pedestrians by reducing crossing distances while slowing down traffic. In addition, appropriately designed traffic calming would improve the Main Street aesthetics in the corridor. NJBPAC Borough of Metuchen Crosswalk Evaluation 5

9 Rectangular rapid flashing beacons are proven to be very effective at inducing drivers to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks. The borough should install an RRFB at the Pennsylvania Avenue and Main Street crosswalk. Conclusions The Borough of Metuchen has clearly made significant efforts to create a livable and walkable community, especially in the downtown area. The Borough understands that pedestrian safety is paramount to the success of those efforts and has taken the step to improve a particular crossing, which they have deemed to be deficient. As a result of the site visit, the BPAC Design Subcommittee believes that through a combination of education, enforcement and engineering, pedestrian safety along the entire corridor can be improved. The suggested next step for the borough is to take the list of recommendations to the respective borough committee to consider, along with the existing conditions provided, and prioritize. By tackling some of the simpler items on the list first (i.e. striping and signage) the borough may be able to see immediate results and gain support for completing additional tasks. List of Appendices Appendix A: List of participants Appendix B: Site Photos NJBPAC Borough of Metuchen Crosswalk Evaluation 6

10 Appendix A

11 Name Jerry Foster Andy Kaplan Debbie Kingsland Neal Leitner Ranjit Walia Robert Williams Kathy Elliot DA Lebar, Esq. Captain Rob Rentenberg Officer Cynthia Velez Organization BPAC West Windsor Bicycle Pedestrian Alliance Rutgers Transportation Safety Resource Center NJ Department of Transportation Sussex County Planning Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center Metuchen Birdsall Engineering Metuchen Traffic and Transportation Committee Metuchen Police Department Metuchen Police Department

12 Appendix B

13 Issues with the crosswalk include faded striping and a malfunctioning pedestrian lighting system. Pedestrians trying to cross are greeted with a covered signal button. Main Street passes under the train tracks, leading into the downtown area, obscuring the driver s view of the crosswalk and pedestrians. The slope of the road also prevents drivers heading in the other direction from seeing the crosswalk. Trains aren t the only popular form of transit in Metuchen. Here a group waits to board a northbound bus. Signage can often confuse drivers, including this one which instructs drivers to expect pedestrians in an area outside of the crosswalk.

14 Traffic in downtown Metuchen is heavy, even outside of the normal rush hour periods. This sign, warning drivers of the low height of the underpass, is totally obstructed by branches. The heavy volume of bus and truck traffic can be very intimidating for pedestrians. An in pavement flashing light system is still in use at another crosswalk on Main Street. Proper lighting is essential, and should be used to illuminate the crosswalk at night. In street signage should be used on either side of the cross walk, to ensure visibility and help delineate the crosswalk from the street.

15 Pedestrian safety measures should be implemented on a corridor wide basis. This intersection, located south of the Main Street and Penn Ave. crossing, needs restriping as well. Overhead sign posts could be used to alert motorists that they are entering a pedestrian safety zone.