Transactions on Transport Sciences 2018, 9(1):41-54 | DOI: 10.5507/tots.2018.004

Design of crosswalks for children A synthesis of best practice

Lars Ledena, Charlotta Johanssona, Peter Rosandera, Victoria Gitelmanb, Per Gårderc
a Luleå University of Technology, 971 87 Luleå, Sweden, Lars.Leden@ltu.se or info@larsleden.com
b Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
c University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA

A synthesis of best practice was done to come up with a "best design" of crosswalks used by children. The analysis is based on studies from three sites in Sweden and three in Israel, research results concerning "ideal" interactions, and a review of additional countermeasures as described in the literature.

Our presumption is that actual vehicle speeds should be below 20 km/h where children (aged 7 to 12 years) are crossing a street, especially if they are walking unaccompanied by an adult. The results of field studies show that a "best design" to reach this should include a speed-reducing device located before the crosswalk. The optimal distance from such a device to the crosswalk is about 10 m if the speed limit is 30 km/h or lower. For streets with 50 km/h speed limits, a longer distance of 15 to 20 m is needed and, as a complimentary measure, the crosswalk itself should also be elevated. At approaches with two lanes or more, multiple-threat conflicts occur due to vehicles overtaking stopped ones in the adjacent lane. These conflicts are a threat especially to children, as they often are hidden behind the stopped vehicle if it has stopped too close to the crosswalk. To provide a stronger message for alerting drivers to stop and to stop early, and not to overtake a stopped car in an adjacent lane, advanced yield bars or stop lines are needed. For those, a distance to the crosswalk of about 10 m is recommended. To secure travel speeds below 20 km/h, additional measures like camera enforcement of speeds near the crosswalk might be needed.

Within a few years, ITS technology may govern speeds at marked crosswalks, and speed-reducing measures will be less needed at that time. However, for the foreseeable future, older vehicles lacking such technology will still be allowed on streets and even in newer vehicles, speed-control systems may be voluntary and possible to switch off. Therefore, we believe that investments into the measures discussed in this paper will have a role to play for decades to come.

Keywords: Crosswalk, pedestrian, children, speed, speed-reducing devices, yield and stop lines

Received: November 3, 2017; Accepted: April 9, 2018; Prepublished online: June 12, 2018; Published: June 26, 2018  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Leden, L., Johansson, C., Rosander, P., Gitelman, V., & Gårder, P. (2018). Design of crosswalks for children A synthesis of best practice. Transactions on Transport Sciences, 9(1), 41-54. doi: 10.5507/tots.2018.004
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Arnold, P. K. & Bennett, R. G. (1990). The Human Factors Approach to Improving Pedestrian Safety. Proceedings Roadwatch - Inaugural Annual Conference. Nedlands, Western Australia.
    2. Barbosa, H., Tight, M. R. & May, A. D. (2000). A Model of Speed Profiles for Traffic Calmed Roads. Transport Research Part A 34. pp. 103-123 Go to original source...
    3. Connely, M. L., Conaglen, H. M., Parson, B.S. & Isler, R. B. (1998). Child Pedestrians Crossing Gap Thresholds. Accident Analysis and Prevention. Vol. 30, No. 4, pp.443-453. Go to original source...
    4. Daniel, J., Chien, S. & Liu, R. (2005). Effectiveness of Certain Design Solutions on Reducing Vehicle Speeds. New Jersey Institute of Technology.
    5. Driver Compliance. (2018). Cameras Save Lives, the Department of Justice and Regulation, Victoria State Government, retrieved from https://www.camerassavelives.vic.gov.au/road-safety/statistics/driver-compliance (accessed 2018-04-01)
    6. Edeva (2016) Retrieved from https://www.edeva.se/se/ (accessed 2016-12-13)
    7. Ekman, L. (1997). Fotgängares situation vid övergångställe-En litteraturstudie. (The Situation of Pedestrians at Crosswalks-a Literature Study). Institutionen för Trafikteknik, Tekniska Högskolan, Lund. Sweden.
    8. Fontaine, M. D. & Carlson, P. J. (2001). Evaluation of speed displays and rumple strips at rural maintenance work zones. Transportation Research Record, 1754, pp. 27-38. Go to original source...
    9. Foot, H., Tolmie, A., Thomson, J., McLaren, B. & Whelan, K. (1999). Recognizing the Hazards. The Psychologist 199/08.12, 400-402.
    10. Gitelman, V., Carmel, R., Pesahov, F. & Chen, S. (2017). Changes in road user behaviour following the installation of raised pedestrian crossings on urban arterial. Transport Research Part F Psychology. Volume 46, Part B, April 2017, 356-372 Go to original source...
    11. Gregersen N. P. (2016) Trafiksäkerhet. Samspelet mellan människor, fordon och trafikmiljö. Wolters Kluwer. 
    12. Gustafsson, S., Jägerbrand A. K. & Grumert, E. (2011). Traffic calming measures in new traffic environments and the use of ITS. VTI notat 17-2011 Linköping, Sweden. Retrieved from https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:670463/FULLTEXT01.pdf
    13. Harkey, D.L. & Zegeer, C.V. (2004). PEDSAFE: Pedestrian safety guide and countermeasure selection system. Report No. FHWA-SA-04-003. Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC.
    14. Höskuldur R. G. K. (2015). Accidents between pedestrians, bicyclists and motorized vehicles: Accident risk and injury severity. Lund university. Department of Technology and Society. Doctoral thesis.
    15. Johansson, C. (2001). Towards a Method to Improve Road Safety for Pedestrians and Cyclists Especially in Child Pedestrian Environments: A Case Study in Borås, Sweden. Luleå University of Technology. Licentiate Thesis 2001:29.
    16. Johansson, C. (2004). Safety and Mobility of Children Crossing Streets as Pedestrians and Bicyclists. Luleå University of Technology. Doctoral Thesis 2004:27.
    17. Johansson, C. & Leden, L. (2007). Short-term effects of countermeasures for improved safety and mobility at marked pedestrian crosswalks in Borås, Sweden. Accident Analysis & Prevention. 39, 3, 500-509. Go to original source...
    18. Johansson, C. & Leden, L. (2010). Child Pedestrians' Quality Needs and how these needs relate to interventions. In Proceedings of Walk21, ICTCT Conference the Hague November 17-19. Retrieved from http://www.ictct.org/workshops/den-hague-netherlands/
    19. Johansson, C., Leden, L., Wilhelmsson, O., Nilsson. K. (1999). Towards a Safe Traffic Environment for Children - a Starting Point. 12th ICTCT Workshop Kaiserslautern 1999, Germany.
    20. Johansson, C. & Rosander, P. (2006). Tessins väg i Malmö - ett exempel på hur barn medverkar i processen om gatumiljöns förnyelse. Arbetsrapport. ISSN 1402-9774 Luleå tekniska universitet 2006:7
    21. Johansson, C., Rosander, P. & Leden, L. (2011). Distance between Speed Humps and Pedestrian Crossings: Does it Matter? Accident Analysis and Prevention 43, 1846-1851. Go to original source...
    22. Karlgren, J. (2001). Bilars hastighet längs gator med gupp. Metod för framställning av hastighetsprofiler och analys av hastighetsförlopp. Doctoral thesis Chalmers tekniska högskola.
    23. Leden, L. (1989). The safety of cycling children. The safety of the street environment. Technical Research Centre of Finland. Publications 55.
    24. Leden, L., Andersson, K. & Källström, L. (1982). Speed reducing devices in residential areas. The Swedish Traffic Safety Office. Report No. 4. Borlänge.
    25. Leden, L., Gårder, G. & Johansson, C. (2006). Safe pedestrian crossings for children and elderly. Accident Analysis and Prevention 38. 289-294 Go to original source...
    26. Leden, L., Johansson, C. & Leden, L. (2006). Skolenkät och intervjuer om ombyggnaden av Tessins väg vid Fridhemsskolan i Malmö i maj 2006 - ett underlag för att utvärdera effekten av ombyggnaden av Tessins väg. Arbetsrapport 2006:5 Luleå University of Technology.
    27. Light; R. J. & Pillimer, D. B. (1984). Summing up. The science of reviewing research. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-85431-4 Go to original source...
    28. MacGregor, C., Smiley, A. & Dunk, W. (1999). Identifying Gaps in Child Pedestrian Safety. Comparing What Children Do with What Parents Teach. Transportation Research Record 1674. Paper no. 990724. Go to original source...
    29. Morrongiello, B., A., Corbett, M., Milanovic, BA & Beer, J. (2015). Using a Virtual Environment to Examine How Children Cross Streets: Advancing Our Understanding of How Injury Risk Arises. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. 1-11 Go to original source...
    30. Morrongiello, B., A., Corbett, M. (2015). Using a Virtual Environment to study child pedestrians behaviours: a comparison of parents 'expectations and children´s street crossing Inj. Prev. 2015; 21:291-295. doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2014-041508 Go to original source...
    31. MoT (2002). Ministry of Transport. Guidelines for speed humps' design and application. Jerusalem, Israel.
    32. MUTCD (2009). Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways. Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation, Figure 3B-31. Retrieved from http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2/mutcd2009r1r2edition.pdfØvstedal,L., Ryeng, E. Registrering av barns atferd på skolevei. SINTEF rapport STF22A99556, Trondheim. (1999).
    33. Rosander, P, Lyckman, M. & Johansson, C. (2007). Förhöjda övergångsställen för alla trafikanter - en studie om farthinder. Teknisk rapport. ISSN 1402 - 1536 Luleå tekniska universitet 2007:08
    34. SKL (2015). Förslag till utformning av cykelöverfart. Informationsmaterial. Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting 2015-06-16 rev. 2015-06-23
    35. Sørensen; M. W, J. (2010).Trafikksikkerhedshåndboken 3.24 Sambruksområde (Shared space). Oslo, TØI http://tsh.toi.no/324-sambruksomraade.htm
    36. Turner, S., Fitzpatrick, K., Brewer, M. & Park, E.S. (2006). Motorist yielding to pedestrians at unsignalized intersections. Findings from a national study on improving pedestrian safety. Transportation Research Record 1-12 Go to original source...
    37. Towliat, M. (2001). Effects of Safety Measures for Pedestrians and Cyclists at Crossing Facilities on Arterial Roads. Lund institute of Technology. Doctoral Thesis Bulletin 195.
    38. Várhelyi A. (1996). Dynamic Speed Adaptation Based on Information Technology: A Theoretical Background. PhD-thesis, Lund University, Sweden
    39. Várhelyi A. (1998). Drivers' speed behaviour at a zebra crossing: a case study. Accident Analysis and Prevention 30(6), 731-43 (Article based on Várhelyi´s thesis.) Go to original source...
    40. VGU (2015). Vägars och Gators Utformning. VGU guidelines for geometric design of roads and streets (Sweden). Trafikverkets publikation 2015:087

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content