Investigating and Addressing Pedestrian Safety on an Urban College Campus

Pedestrian crash injuries are a major public health concern and result in severe, permanent, and disabling consequences to pedestrians. We conducted a year-long project as participants in the APHA Traffic Safety Institute. Our objective was to understand factors influencing pedestrian safety on an urban college campus and to influence decisionmakers to affect improvements in pedestrian safety. We conducted a survey and observational study of pedestrian beliefs, attitudes and behavior. A brief questionnaire was administered to university students to determine their perceptions and practices regarding street crossing, electronic device use (both talking and texting with a phone and using a music player) and perceived safety. We also asked participants to identify hazardous locations and safety issues for pedestrians. We also conducted observational studies at busy campus intersections, counted pedestrian behaviors, and analyzed patterns of unsafe behaviors. The presence of features in the physical environment associated with traffic safety (e.g., crosswalk lights) at the intersections were recorded at intersections were pedestrian crash injuries had been reported. The results of the environmental survey, individual surveys, and observations were used to identify strategies for improving traffic safety at key intersections on campus. Large numbers of pedestrians on an urban college campus cross streets in proximity to motor vehicles operating at high-speed. Pedestrian behaviors that put individuals at risk are very commonly practiced on campus. Modification of the pedestrian and roadway environment should be implemented at the highest hazard locations to reduce the probability of pedestrian crash injuries.