Browsing by Author "Van Houten, Ron"

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    Evaluation of R1-6 Gateway Treatment Alternatives for Pedestrian Crossings: Follow Up Report
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2017-06) Van Houten, Ron; Hochmuth, Jonathan
    Monthly follow-up data confirmed that permanent in roadway installations of the R1-6 gateway treatment led to an increase in the percentage of drivers yielding to pedestrians at midblock and multilane urban and suburban locations from 15% to 70% and that these increases endured without any decrement over the spring, summer and fall of 2016. Speed data collected at each site showed 4 to 5 mph reduction in mean when motorists traversed the crosswalk when pedestrians were absent. These speed changes persisted over time. An additional study showed that placing the signs between 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 ft in advance of the crosswalk were equally effective and they enticed drivers to yield further ahead of the crosswalk. Data on sign survival showed that signs mounted on a curb type mount with a flexible rubber attachment all survived while only 58% of the flush mounted signs with a pivoting base survived. Data showed that none of the signs mounted on top of the edge of a curb on a refuge island or median island, curb extension, or the curb on the edge of the roadway under FHWA permission to experiment were destroyed or damaged.
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    Evaluation of Sustained Enforcement, Education, and Engineering Measures on Pedestrian Crossings
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation., 2019-07) Morris, Nichole L.; Craig, Curtis M.; Van Houten, Ron
    Pedestrian fatalities and injuries represent a growing percentage of all traffic fatalities and injuries. This project used a multifaceted approach to improving compliance to the Minnesota crosswalk law in Saint Paul, Minnesota, including: (1) education, (2) measurement, (3) enforcement efforts, (4) social norming, and (5) engineering treatment. The multifaceted activities were planned and implemented in Saint Paul with city traffic engineers and enforcement officers. The study initially observed 32% yielding and frequent multiple threat passing at 16 unsignalized, marked crosswalks throughout Saint Paul, measured through staged pedestrian crossings by the research team. A program was implemented that used a phased treatment approach of disseminating educational materials, conducting four waves of high visibility enforcement (HVE), displaying yielding averages on feedback signs across the city, and introducing low-cost engineering solutions through in-street signs. The results demonstrated a significant impact from education, HVE, and engineering to increase yielding to as high as 78% at enforcement sites and 61% at untreated sites. Multiple threat passing was also reduced. Overall, the study demonstrated that the HVE program and combined low-cost engineering were effective at improving compliance to the crosswalk law.
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    Multi-city study of an engineering and outreach program to increase driver yielding at signalized and unsignalized crosswalks
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2023-03) Morris, Nichole L.; Craig, Curtis M.; Drahos, Bradley; Tian, Disi; Van Houten, Ron; Mabry, Marshall; Kessler, William
    Pedestrian deaths are at a 30-year high nationally, accounting for 16% of total deaths in 2018 and far exceeding the previous decade of 12%, a trend mirrored in Minnesota. Previous research found an increase in local and citywide yielding at unsignalized crosswalks following an engineering and high-visibility enforcement program in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This study examined a modified engineering-focused (i.e., without enforcement) program expanded to both unsignalized and signalized intersections across the Twin Cities. The six-month study found modest improvements in yielding from baseline to treatment end (48.1% to 65.5% in Saint Paul and 19.8% to 38.8% in Minneapolis) at unsignalized engineering treatment sites but no improvements at generalization sites. No significant improvements in left- or right-turning yielding by drivers in Saint Paul were found at treated signalized intersections, but given that yielding was significantly worse at generalization sites over time, there may be some evidence that treatments mitigated performance declines among Saint Paul drivers during the study period. Yielding improvements at signalized treatment sites were more pronounced for only right-turning drivers in Minneapolis, but generalization sites showed no improvement or even worsened over time. Overall, study results suggested no shift in driving culture in either city, as found with the previous study using police enforcement, but found some evidence of local, site-specific changes in driver yielding behavior at treatment locations.