Designing for Pedestrian Safety (two-day course)

Description:

This course is intended to help state and local transportation professionals address pedestrian safety issues through design and engineering solutions. Training objectives include:

  • Participants will learn that pedestrians belong in all geometric design, operations, and safety considerations.
  • Participants will learn the significance of land-use, street connectivity, and site design in helping to make a safer pedestrian environment.
  • Participants will understand human behavior issues related to pedestrians and drivers interacting safely and common pedestrian crash types.
  • Participants will understand the role that planning and street design play in pedestrian safety.
  • Participants will learn effective solutions and best practices in design and operations for pedestrian safety. 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 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:

The primary audience for this course includes engineers, planners, and traffic safety personnel. The secondary audience includes enforcement professionals, public health and injury prevention professionals, decision-makers, and others who are seeking ideas and solutions for making changes to the physical environment that improve safety for pedestrians.

Course Materials:

The PEDSAFE: Pedestrian Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System document is used as the primary reference for this course. Additionally, several major engineering-related reference materials and policies are cited.

View Course Flier (PDF, 280 KB)