Pedestrian Facilities Users Guide - Providing Safety and Mobility

Author(s):

Zegeer, Charles V.

Organization:

United States Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration

Publisher/Date:

McLean, VA, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Research and Development, turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center

Rating:

Useful

Abstract:

Providing Safety and Mobility is described by the author as providing "information on how to identify the safety and mobility needs of pedestrians within the right-of-way". Like the other two books in this series, How to Develop a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, and A Guide for Reducing Collisions Involving Pedestrians (both reviewed herein), this book will be of primary interest to community activists, planning agencies, and transportation departments. In addition, Chapters 5 and Appendix B could be of some use to designers. Although the first written of these three sequential books by Zegeer, it is the third if one were following the development process. As with the other two books, the goal of the author is the reduction of pedestrian/vehicle crashes, so the book is limited in scope.

Chapter I, the introductory chapter, contains a three-paragraph section on the ADA Guidelines, and two three-paragraph sections about pedestrians. As with the other two volumes, this material is insufficient in its description of the scope of abilities and needs of the range of pedestrians. Chapter II covers pedestrian crash trends and the classification of crash types. Chapter III expands the typology into 13 crash type groups, giving factors in selecting the best countermeasures. Chapter IV, the most useful to design engineers, details 47 different engineering solutions covering pedestrian facility design, roadway design, intersection design, traffic calming strategies, traffic management, and signals and signs. Of these, only the section on pedestrian facility design covers sidewalks generically. If this chapter were to be used for design criteria, it is not adequate in itself. It must be used in conjunction with a more detailed design reference. To this end, the authors have provided a design reference as Section V of Appendix B (see below). But this section is inadequate. A supplemental source would be to consult instead Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access, Part 2 (reviewed herein). A positive feature of this Section V of Appendix B is that, in addition to brief narrative, each of the 47 features has a picture, a diagram or sketch, a statement of purpose, prime considerations in bullet form, and an estimated cost. As with the other Zegeer et al. books, Chapter 5, Resources, and the Appendices are an excellent source for learning more.

Appendix A contains 22 thumbnail case histories, each with a picture, of some of the 47 features described in Chapter 4. Appendix B is sidewalk related criteria, of which section V is design guidelines. This is an excellent abbreviated set of guidelines. It is one of the rare resources in which pedestrian design guidelines are not couched in terms of maximums/minimums. However, it is not clear for whom they are intended. Though the guidance is quite good, only an experienced designer who already has a solid grounding in accessibility pedestrian design, could use them without supplemental information. A novice designer needs more information, and most of the information would already be well known by an experienced designer. For instance, if you turn to the guidelines to find out the maximum cross slope of a sidewalk, then you need to know a lot more about pedestrian mobility than the number "2%.” Or, another example, design details for construction are very limited. "Concrete sidewalks should be built to a minimum depth of 4 inches, and to a minimum depth of 6 inches at driveways." That's the total entry about construction. There is nothing about sub-grades, preparation, the use of reinforcing materials, using roadway specifications at apex curb ramps because of cars cutting the corners. It is difficult to understand anyone would need to know about the four inches of concrete without knowing about all the other construction details. With that caveat, this abbreviated set of guidelines is a valuable resource even if it cannot be used alone.

There are a few elements that need to be corrected in a future edition. Under Sidewalk Widths, the dimensions in the asterisks are reversed; under Surfaces, crushed granite should be eliminated; under Sidewalk Grade and Cross Slopes, four feet is required at the top. The curb ramp section should be re-written. Many entries are too brief or leave out an important bit of information.)

Number of Pages:

158

Link:

Pedestrian Facilities Users Guide - Providing Safety and Mobility (PDF) (www.walkinginfo.org/pdf/peduserguide/peduserguide.pdf)

Index?

No

Illustrations?

Yes

Material Type:

Monograph

Key Document?

No

Categories:

Regulations, Codes, Guidelines, & Standards (National, State, Local), Planning, Schematic Design

Keywords:

Pedestrian Safety, Pedestrian Usability

Strengths:

• Of primary interest to community activists, planning agencies, and transportation departments.
• Most criteria performance criteria accompanied by rationale.
• Chapters 5 and Appendix B could be of some use to designers.
• Contains an abbreviated set of guidelines that are useful, but inadequate by themselves.

Record Last Updated:

July 2006