Planning and Designing for Pedestrian Safety (three-day course)

Description:

This course is a combination of the key material in the Developing a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan course and the Designing for Pedestrian Safety course. This course is designed to help state and local officials learn how to address pedestrian safety issues through planning, design, and engineering solutions. Training objectives for this course include:

  • Participants will learn that pedestrians belong in all design, operations, and safety considerations.
  • Participants will understand human behavior issues related to pedestrians and drivers interacting safely and common pedestrian crash types.
  • Participants will understand the role that land use planning, street and site design, education, and enforcement play in pedestrian safety.
  • Participants will learn how to make a commitment to safety and involve stakeholders to create publicly supported and trusted policies, programs, and projects.
  • Participants will learn how to collect and analyze data in a meaningful way to identify safety deficiencies and priorities for improvement.
  • Participants will learn about commonly used and effective pedestrian crash countermeasures and how to implement effective pedestrian safety solutions. Specific design and operational issues covered include:
    • Sidewalk and walkway design
    • Intersection geometry
    • Signs, signals, and crosswalks
    • Interchange design and alternatives
    • Facilities at signalized intersections
    • Roundabouts
    • Connections to transit
    • Road diets and other traffic calming measures
  • Participants will learn about untapped funding sources to support pedestrian safety initiatives.
  • Participants will take part in a field exercise as a critical element to the course. The class is broken into smaller groups to walk and study a nearby intersection or corridor for possible pedestrian safety improvements. The groups brainstorm and share engineering and policy solutions.

Target Audience:

Engineers, planners, traffic safety and enforcement professionals, public health and injury prevention professionals, and decision-makers who have the responsibility of improving pedestrian safety at the state or local level.

Course Materials:

The course primarily follows the How to Develop a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan guide. The PEDSAFE: Pedestrian Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System document is also a key resource. Additionally, several major planning and engineering-related reference materials and policies are provided.

View Course Flier (PDF, 103 KB)