Evaluation of Sustained Enforcement, Education, and Engineering Measures on Pedestrian Crossings

Status: Complete
Report Date: 07/25/2019

Summary:

Pedestrian injuries and fatalities represent a growing percentage of all traffic injuries and fatalities across the nation. In 2016, 60 pedestrians were killed in Minnesota, the highest number since 1991. The St. Paul Police Department and community partners collaborated with researchers at the University of Minnesota and Western Michigan University, along with staff at MnDOT, to evaluate a program that employed multiple strategies over a year in a focused effort to change drivers' yielding behavior to pedestrians in crosswalks. By using diverse means of community education, high-visibility police enforcement, low-cost engineering (such as signs in streets), as well as highly visible signs announcing desirable changes in drivers' behavior near the end of the project, researchers and their community partners were able to document substantial changes in drivers' behavior. Improvements were seen not only at the 16 research sites, but also at generalized intersections across the city as various media spread the word of the importance of stopping for pedestrians. The program was a success and could easily be transferred to other communities across the state.

Project Personnel:

Principal Investigator: Nichole Morris

Co-Principal Investigator: Curtis Craig, Ron Van Houten

Technical Liaison: Melissa Barnes

Project Coordinator: David Glyer

Panel Members:
Brenda Thomas - Metro District
Erin Laberee - Ramsey County Public Works
Fay Simer - Transportation System Management
Heidi Schallberg - Metropolitan Council
Jeremy Ellison - City of St. Paul
Joe Gustafson - Washington County Public Works
Mackenzie Turner Bargen - Metro District
Michelle Pooler - Traffic Engineering
Samantha Henningson -
Susan Young - City of St Paul
Thomas Nixon - District 3

Final Deliverables:

Related Materials:

‘He was fast … he ran you right over’: what it’s like to get hit by an SUV - (News/Publication Article)
U of M, St. Paul Team Up to Improve Pedestrian Safety at Crosswalks - (Video/Webinar)
Signs shame drivers into stopping for pedestrians in St. Paul (Star Tribune) - (News/Publication Article)
Crossroads: More Saint Paul Drivers Stopping for Pedestrians, Thanks to Pilot Study - (Blog Post)
Drivers stopping for pedestrians on the rise in St. Paul, U of M study finds - (News/Publication Article)
Editorial: Pedestrian safety. Yielding matters. So does design (Pioneer Press) - (News/Publication Article)

Related Research:

Pedestrian Engineering and Enforcement at Signalized Intersections