Community Builders Webinar Series

Transcription

1 Community Builders Webinar Series Wednesday, January 27, 2016: Why Everybody Talks About Transportation Safety, But Nobody Does Anything About It Jim Charlier, AICP, Charlier Associates web: contact:

2 why everybody talks about transportation safety

3 but nobody does anything about it

4 today: streets bicycles pedestrians traffic

5 not today: railroads aviation off-road trails & paths public transit

6 recurring theme engineering practice human nature

7 street safety topics national & state trends design risk factors standards, guidelines data & reporting wrap up

8 street safety topics national & state trends design risk factors standards, guidelines data & reporting wrap up

9 accidents crashes or collisions many injuries & fatalities are the direct result of personal choices

10 property damage only (pdo) personal injury (pi) fatal crashes & fatalities (fc & f)

11 reporting number of crashes crash rates rate per hundred million vehicle miles (100m vmt) rate per hundred thousand population

12 annual US traffic fatalities (all street modes) 50,000 52,627 50,000 40,000 40,000 32,719 30,000 30,000 20,000 20,000 10,000 12,155 10,000 source: NHTSA, FHWA

13 US traffic fatality rate/hmvm (all street modes) source: NHTSA, FHWA

14 what has improved?

15 rural roadways 100 years of progress drivers vehicles urban streets

16 rural roadways 100 years of progress better design vertical geometry horizontal geometry lane markings no passing zones guard rails better pavement markings safer driving surfaces paved shoulders wider shoulders rumble strips better signs maintenance practices

17 drivers 100 years of progress licensing training testing drunk driving laws emergency services urgent care

18 vehicles 100 years of progress seat belts air bags child protection crash-proof frames safer fuel tanks safer interior finishes cruise control ABS (automatic braking) back-up cameras crash avoidance lane keeping

19 urban streets traffic signals intersection lighting better pavement markings roundabouts 100 years of progress

20 US traffic fatality rate/hmvm (all street modes) but source: NHTSA, FHWA

21 Changes in highway infrastructure between 1984 and 1997 have not reduced traffic fatalities and injuries and have even had the effect of increasing total fatalities and injuries. Other factors, primarily changes in the demographic age mix of the population, increased seat belt usage, and improvements in medical technology are responsible for the downward trend in fatal accidents. Noland, R. B. 2001, Transportation Research Board

22 the safety of urban streets has not been improving

23 most fatal crashes happen in cities, right? well

24 fatalities rural & urban places 17,696 14,987 54% rural 46% urban source: NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts (2013 data)

25 federal definition of urban small cities & towns urban areas & urban clusters geography rural suburbs cities

26

27 fatalities rural & urban places 17,696 14,987 54% rural 46% urban source: NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts (2013 data)

28 -30% -15% rural vs urban trends

29 children

30 causes of unintentional injury death- children age 1-4 motor vehicle accidents drowning fires & burns falls suffocation poisoning other injuries 31% 27% 14% 2% 8% 2% 15% source: CDC National Vital Statistics System,

31 causes of unintentional injury death- children age 5 9 motor vehicle accidents drowning fires & burns falls suffocation poisoning other injuries 13% 13% 1% 4% 1% 15% 53% source: CDC National Vital Statistics System,

32 causes of unintentional injury death- children age motor vehicle accidents drowning fires & burns falls suffocation poisoning other injuries 10% 6% 2% 4% 2% 18% 58% source: CDC National Vital Statistics System,

33 causes of unintentional injury death- children age motor vehicle accidents drowning fires & burns falls suffocation poisoning other injuries 5% 1% 1% 4% 7% 9% 76% source: CDC National Vital Statistics System,

34 5 things that worry parents the most: 5 things most likely to cause injury or death (children < 18): kidnapping school snipers terrorists dangerous strangers drugs traffic crashes* homicide** child abuse** suicide drowning * incl. bike & ped ** someone they know source: Mayo Institute, CDC

35 statistically, the most dangerous thing your child does is get into a car with you

36 2013 traffic fatalities by mode motor vehicles 84% pedestrians 14% other < 0% 1% bicyclists 2%

37 US pedestrian fatalities 5,000 5,489 5,000 4,000 4,939 4,675 4,884 4,000 4,109 3,000 3,000 2,000 2,000 1,000 1,000 source: NHTSA, FHWA

38 annual US fatality rates/100k pop vehicle occupants pedestrians % -27% source: NHTSA FARS database

39 US injury rate: pedestrians hit by motor vehicles (rate/100,000 population) < age group source: NHTSA, 2008

40 US fatality rate: pedestrians hit by motor vehicles (rate/100,000 population) age group < source: NHTSA, 2008

41 pedestrian safety and the scale problem

42 the scale problem average 15.3 pedestrian fatalities/100,000 pop 0.015% probability of being killed each year town with 1,500 pop = 0.22 annual deaths 50% safety improvement = 0.11 annual deaths

43 most crashes happen at intersections, right? wrong

44 intersections vs other locations 1,401,733 23, ,236 8,958 36% 64% 26% 74% intersections all other intersections all other 2008 all crashes 2013 fatalities source: 2013 NHTSA FARS data, 2008 crash data

45 intersections vs other locations 14,884 10,289 4,698 2,812 16% intersections 84% 31% 69% all other intersections all other 2013 rural fatalities 2013 urban fatalities source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,

46 2013 urban fatalities 69% 31%

47 summary: trends there has been ongoing, significant improvement in total traffic fatalities & crash rates safety improvements have been achieved through rural roadway design, driver training/licensing, vehicle design & driver assistance systems many streets & highways within towns & cities are less safe than in > 2/3 of urban fatalities occur away from intersections

48 street safety topics national & state trends design risk factors standards, guidelines data & reporting wrap up

49 street design objectives urban form/ urban design $ traveler safety function/ capacity

50 urban form/ urban design

51 traveler safety

52 function/ capacity

53 street design objectives urban form/ urban design $ traveler safety balanced approach function/ capacity

54 street design objectives urban form/ urban design $ traveler safety function/ capacity prevailing approach

55 the speed problem

56 crash involvement speed: the u-shaped curve average Source: FHWA-RD mph

57 85 th percentile

58 % vehicle speed

59 probability of fatality crash severity 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% change in speed at impact Source: FHWA-RD

60 speed kills pedestrians 60

61 driver s cone of vision varies with speed

62 driver s cone of vision NACTO

63 pedestrian survival rates & vehicle speed 20mph 30mph 40mph 100% 95% 50% % survive % die 50% 5% 55% 45% 15% 100% 85%

64 street road

65 stroad * * coined by Chuck Marohn, Strong Towns

66 roads

67 streets

68 stroads

69 stroads

70 stroad width

71 stroad speed

72 stroads higher rates of vehicle-vehicle injuries & fatalities higher rates of vehicle-pedestrian injuries & fatalities higher rates of vehicle-bicycle injuries & fatalities

73 street design topics lane width, street width medians, access management protected bike lanes, cycle tracks bike boxes road diets

74 street design topics lane width, street width

75 safety impact: number of lanes collision rates medium density controlling for adt lane 3 lane TWLTL residential land uses 4 lane undivided 2 lane 3 lane TWLTL commercial land uses 4 lane undivided Source: Hummer and Lewis, FHWA/NC/ , NCSU

76 street design topics medians, access management

77 Source: Hummer and Lewis, FHWA/NC/ , NCSU safety impact: access management intersections/cor ridor mile < 20 undivided TWLTL median > 60

78 street design topics pedestrian crossings

79 pedestrian fatalities as % of all traffic fatalities 11% 14% source: NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts (2013 data)

80 most pedestrian fatalities occur away from intersections away from intersections 21% lack of sidewalks, etc. 10% intersections 20% 70% 79% midblock crossings not in streets in streets source: Pedestrian Injuries and Fatalities Guide No. 51 (2007 data)

81 two things are happening crashes at driveways pedestrians crossing streets midblock

82 why pedestrians cross streets away from intersections long blocks & walk distance intersections seem busy & dangerous origins & destinations occur midblock

83 1700

84

85 how we encourage unsafe crossings by prioritizing traffic capacity captain-may-i push buttons for walk cycle flashing yellow/permissive left turn interval pedestrian cycle timed for first pedestrian only traffic cycles timed to clear queue sources: Safety at Signalized Intersections Operating the Flashing Yellow Arrow OTREC-RR April 2013

86 midblock crosswalks

87 mid-block pedestrian crosswalks where midblock crosswalks are needed long blocks transit stops other destinations T intersections crash experience

88 mid-block pedestrian crosswalks where midblock crosswalks are needed T intersections photo credit: George Branyan Pedestrian Program Coordinator DC Department of Transportation

89 mid-block pedestrian crosswalks treatments painted crosswalks raised crosswalks signalized crosswalks grade separations

90 mid-block pedestrian crosswalks bottom line it is possible to improve mid-block safety it helps to have data about high-crash-rate locations results on high-speed multi-lane streets are mixed medians (half-way refuges) help a lot

91 mid-block pedestrian crosswalks bottom bottom line don t build any more long-block, highspeed, multi-lane streets (stroads)

92 speed kills bicyclists, too 92

93 street design topics protected bike lanes, cycle tracks

94

95 benefits of protected bike lanes - NYC reduced bike injuries & fatalities reduced pedestrian injuries & fatalities Source: Making Safer Streets (NYCDOT)

96 benefits of protected bike lanes - Montreal comparing cycle tracks with similar streets (traffic, cross-section, speed, etc.) average bicyclist injury rate 28% lower on cycle track streets, never higher 150% increase in bicycle traffic (May September) source: injury prevention.

97 safety comparison of bike facility types Toronto and Vancouver 9x safer than average street protected bike lanes bike lanes multi-use parallel pathways safer injury risk no sidewalks, no bike lanes less safe source: Route Infrastructure and the Risk of Injuries to Bicyclists: A Case-Crossover Study,

98 street design topics road diets

99 road diets uses of space: bike lanes wider sidewalks on-street parking

100 road diets: 4-lane undivided to 3-lane conversions

101 Genesee County, MI 32% overall reduction in crash rates

102 Pasadena, CA

103 Pasadena, CA

104 Reston, VA

105 Reston, VA

106 road diets bottom line lane reduction/road diets improve safety in some cases they increase congestion and delay in some cases they divert traffic to other streets design matters!!!

107 street safety topics national & state trends design risk factors standards, guidelines data & reporting wrap up

108 AASHTO greenbook

109 greenbook mythodology the federal highway administration requires adherence to greenbook standards in federallyfunded projects NOT TRUE 1995 legislation eliminated greenbook requirement

110 greenbook mythodology greenbook requires 12 traffic lanes NOT TRUE greenbook provides for 12, 11, 10 and 9 lanes

111 greenbook shortcomings? commercial land uses should be placed along higher-speed arterials and collectors WRONG in most cities, neighborhood serving commercial space is located along local streets

112 greenbook shortcomings? predict & provide: forecast traffic out 20 years & build for 30 th highest hour WRONG this prioritizes capacity over safety & urban form & induces higher traffic demand

113 greenbook shortcomings? parking for land uses along arterial streets should be provided in off-street facilities WRONG on-street parking encourages lower speeds, supports good urban form & does not increase crash rates

114 greenbook shortcomings? street trees should be removed from clear zones along urban streets WRONG street trees encourage lower speeds & safer conditions; collisions with trees on urban streets rarely cause fatalities

115 tree facts * collisions with trees represent 1.9% of all crashes but, collisions with trees represent 0.7% of urban crashes most tree-crash fatalities (77%) are on rural, 2-lane roads 0.001% of urban crashes involve fatal collisions with trees the greenbook s approach to fixed objects in general & trees in particular is a result of its rural highway orientation *national data: Wolf and Bratton: Urban Trees and Traffic Safety. Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 32(4): July p.170

116 greenbook shortcomings? emphasis on street hierarchy (arterial collector local), silent on connectivity WRONG research shows well-connected, urban, gridded networks are safer & deliver other community benefits

117 network facts * hierarchical, poorly-connected networks: increase probability of severe injury by 30% increase probability of fatality by 50% *database of 230,000 injury accidents, source: Traffic Safety and the Smart Growth Street Network. Norman W. Garrick, University of Connecticut, Wesley Marshall, University of Colorado Denver.

118 greenbook shortcomings? street type & street design should determine land uses and context WRONG abutting land use should guide street planning & design (context-sensitive design)

119

120 example: Orlando, Fl safety study * Colonial Drive, US 50 5 years of data livable section comparison section * Eric Dumbaugh, Journal of the American Planning Association, Summer 2005, Vol. 71, No. 3. p. 283

121 example: Orlando, Fl safety study * livable section 4 lanes 10 painted median 11 lanes on-street parking storefronts furniture, trees 40mph 47,000 vehicles/day 0.9 mile section comparison section 4 lanes 10 painted median 12.5 lanes no on-street parking large parking lots no fixed objects 45mph 46,000 vehicles/day 0.9 mile section * Eric Dumbaugh, Journal of the American Planning Association, Summer 2005, Vol. 71, No. 3. p. 283

122 example: Orlando, Fl safety study * livable section 73 midblock crashes 42 personal injury crashes 0 fatalities comparison section 82 midblock crashes 61 personal injury crashes 6 fatalities 4 pedestrians 1 bicyclist 1 vehicle occupant * Eric Dumbaugh, Journal of the American Planning Association, Summer 2005, Vol. 71, No. 3. p. 283

123 where the greenbook succeeds

124 where the greenbook fails

125 CNU/ULI context sensitive solutions

126 NACTO street design guide

127 NACTO urban bikeways design guide

128 data-based approach to improving pedestrian safety

129 missing: guidance on semiautonomous & autonomous vehicles potential benefits: fatal accidents involving (causes overlap) alcohol speeding distracted driver other driver error 31% 30% 21% 21% industry estimate: > 40% reduction Data: Preparing a Nation for Autonomous Vehicles - Opportunities, Barriers and Policy Recommendations. Eno Foundation. October 2013

130 street safety topics national & state trends design risk factors standards, guidelines data & reporting wrap up

131 2013 fatality rate/100k population * Colorado Idaho Montana New Mexico Utah Wyoming source: NHTSA FARS * US average: 10.39

132 2013 pedestrian fatality rate /100k population * Colorado Idaho Montana New Mexico Utah Wyoming source: NHTSA FARS * US average: 1.50

133 2013 fatality rate/100m vmt * Colorado Idaho Montana New Mexico Utah Wyoming source: NHTSA FARS * US average: 1.10

134 2013 % of fatalities occurring in rural places 98% 82% 69% 83% 51% 49% Colorado Idaho Montana New Mexico Utah Wyoming source: NHTSA FARS

135 2013 % fatalities driver bac > 0.01% 35% 34% 45% 38% 20% 33% * Colorado Idaho Montana New Mexico Utah Wyoming source: NHTSA FARS * US average: 36%

136 what gets measured gets done measure what s important

137 monitoring & reporting crash data system data

138

139 street safety topics national & state trends design risk factors standards, guidelines data & reporting wrap up

140 why everybody talks about transportation safety

141 but nobody does anything about it

142 street design objectives urban form/ urban design $ traveler safety function/ capacity prevailing approach

143 street design objectives urban form/ urban design $ traveler safety balanced approach function/ capacity

144 vision zero (Sweden 1997) life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits within the society

145 5 rules of thumb 1 wider lanes & increased number of lanes cause higher crash rates & crash severity

146 5 rules of thumb 2 reducing congestion does not reduce the rate of personal injuries and fatalities

147 5 rules of thumb 3 bike lanes, especially protected lanes, improve bicycle and pedestrian safety

148 5 rules of thumb 4 medians significantly reduce crash rates and crash severity

149 5 rules of thumb 5 busy urban streets with on-street parking are safer than stroads

150 remember engineering practice human nature

151 thank you

152 Community Builders Webinar Series Website: Contact: Upcoming Webinars: February 24: Community Partnerships Examples from Downtown Durango, featuring Tim Walsworth, Executive Director of March 16: Cities Building Community Wealth, Featuring Sarah McKinley, American Planning Association event #