Pedestrian Safety and Accessibility Considerations at Modern Roundabouts

Originally Presented on March 7, 2021

This webinar explores considerations for pedestrian safety and pedestrian accessibility at modern roundabout intersections. Modern roundabouts are one of FHWA’s proven safety countermeasuresdue to their clear and documented reductions in vehicle injury and fatal crashes compared to signalized intersections. However, the safety performance of roundabouts to pedestrians is less clear, and a lot of research in recent years has pointed to significant concerns about the accessibility of roundabouts to pedestrians who are blind. 

In the first of two presentations, Dr. Bastian Schroeder presents an overview of several recent research efforts and documents related to the topic, including recently-published NCHRP Report 674, proposed US Access Board Accessibility Guidelines, and other research. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 674: Crossing Solutions at Roundabouts and Channelized Turn Lanes for Pedestrians with Vision Disabilities (available here) presents a framework for quantifying accessibility at complex road crossings like roundabouts and presents an initial look at safety countermeasures intended to improve access.

In the second presentation, Dr. Hillary Isebrands talked about general pedestrian and bicycle safety at modern roundabouts from the perspective of the Federal Highway Administration.   

Presented by:

  • Bastian Schroeder, Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) at North Carolina State University
  • Hillary Isebrands, Federal Highway Administration, Resource Center - Safety and Design Technical Service Team

Webinar Resources: