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State Safety Office
Lora Hollingsworth, P.E., Chief Safety Officer
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Research Reports
The Department of Transportation conducts research on
issues related to pedestrians and bicycles. Using the links below,
you will be connected to a summary of the research, and have the ability
to download a PDF version of the report if desired.
Multimodal Quality/Level of Service
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The following reports are provided as Adobe Acrobat PDF files
and can be viewed with the free Adobe
Acrobat Reader. The Adobe site provides an option to convert
PDF files to HTML format.
Clicking these links will open another Web browser window.
Conserve by Bicycle Phase 1 Study
With data for the same 17 corridors and 25 others, another model was developed to predict frequency of recreational (i.e., all non-utilitarian) cycling trips. Five factors corresponded to increased recreational cycling in a corridor:
Existing Safe Routes to School programs and
programs to market cycling in the context of
multimodal trip options were also reviewed.
Conserve by Bicycle Phase 2 Study The primary purposes of this study were (1) to more fully research questions recommended for further investigation in the Phase 1 report and (2) to expand the scope of the research to include the pedestrian mode. Bicycle and pedestrian usage data were collected on several corridors. These data were used to refine models (developed in Phase 1) of mode choice and induced bicycle recreational travel, and to develop a new model for predicting induced pedestrian recreational travel. The model equations were incorporated in a spreadsheet calculation tool that estimates, for a given potential corridor improvement (using data input by the user), the resulting travel mode split and resulting daily reductions of fuel usage (in gallons of gasoline), health-care costs (in dollars), and CO2 emissions (in pounds). The User Guide for this Benefits Calculator may be found in Appendix B (in the "Appendices" file). The study also sought to determine whether provision of bicycle and pedestrian facilities at some time in a person's life might lead to increased cycling or walking later in life. Florida residents were surveyed at five locations about their levels of cycling and walking activity throughout their lives. Analysis did not find statistically significant evidence that cycling or walking activity at some stage of a persons life is related to greater cycling or walking activity later in life. However, in many communities bike lanes and paths have become fairly available only relatively recently; thus, a possible effect of facilities provision on long-term cycling activity cannot be ruled out on the basis of these results. Also, frequent recreational walking does seem to be correlated with concurrent utilitarian walking. Back to top
Statewide Bicycle Facilities Study:
Executive Summary (465 KB)
Sidepath Facility Selection and Design
(199 KB)
Paper on Testing
Behavioral Hypotheses on Street Crossing
(234 KB) Furthermore, the evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that pedestrians have a false sense of security in a marked crosswalk at uncontrolled locations. On the other hand, there is no evidence that knowledge of street-crossing law affects how pedestrians cross streets. These results have direct implications to all three areas of public policies—engineering, education, and enforcement. This research was conducted by the Center for Urban
Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida.
Transportation
Issues: Pedestrian Safety study (2003), Summary
Evaluation of Traffic Crash Fatality Causes
and Effects, Summary
Statewide Survey on Bicycle and Pedestrian
Facilities (981 KB) The Operational Characteristics of Inline Skaters (204 KB) This research focused on determining operating speeds, operating space (sweep width), stopping techniques, stopping distance and stopping width for inline skaters both on road facilities and trails. In the project, inline skaters were videotaped on roads and trails located in west and south Florida. The skaters were analyzed for the following categories: male, female, learner, advanced and all together. Logit models were developed to determine the 15th, 50th and 85th percentile values for the operational characteristics. These operational characteristics would impact the desirability of allowing inline skaters on the street system and also will provide important information for geometric design for inline skater paths. This research was conducted by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Transportation Program, University of South Florida. (Table of Contents, List of Figures, List of Figures) (16 KB) This report provides an overview of the multidisciplinary program implemented in St. Petersburg, Florida to improve pedestrian safety. The program aimed to increase motorists yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks from single digits to 70 percent and reduce pedestrian-motor vehicle conflicts in crosswalks by 50 percent. Another program goal was to increase pedestrians’ feelings of comfort and safety while crossing the street. The report documented the steps involved in assessing pedestrian safety in the community, prioritizing and selecting countermeasures to improve pedestrian safety, implementing engineering, education, and enforcement interventions, and evaluating the effectiveness of the program. The results, while not increasing the rate of motorists' yielding as much as hoped for, are interesting. They provide insight into the challenges of implementing a multidisciplinary program over a large urbanized city and give some recommendations on how the challenges can be overcome. This research was conducted by the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida with the assistance of the Center for Education and Research in Safety. An Evaluation of the LightGuardTM- Pedestrian Crosswalk Warning System (541 KB) This report describes an evaluation of a prototype
installation of the LightGuardTM Pedestrian Crosswalk Warning System in Orlando, FL. The
evaluation was conducted by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research
Center (HSRC) with the assistance of the Center for Applied Research (CAR) during 1997 and
1998. An Evaluation of Flashing Crosswallks in Gainesville and Lakeland Florida (1072 KB) This report describes an evaluation of a
flashing crosswalk systems in Gainesville, FL and Lakeland, FL. The
evaluation was conducted by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research
Center (HSRC) during 1999. An Evaluation of Red Shoulders as a Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Report (427 KB) A scenic road in Lake County, Florida is the subject of this evaluation. The evaluation was conducted by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC). In the early 1990s the road was scheduled to receive shoulders. This was opposed by the residents who feared that speeds would increase with the addition of shoulders. The Florida DOT suggested that painting the shoulders might be a treatment that could be adapted from Europe. The evaluation examined several items: speed data, whether the shoulder was used by bicyclists, lateral positioning of bicyclists being passed by motor vehicles, and the amount and severity of vehicular encroachment into opposing travel lane. Evaluation of the Shared-Use Arrow (754 KB) Originally developed by James Mackay, Bicycle Planner for the City and County of Denver, CO, the shared-use arrow is intended to address deficiencies in wide outside curb lane bike facilities. The wide curb lanes are frequently not recognized as a facility by bicyclists. The shared-use arrow informs the cyclists about where to ride and which direction. This evaluation, performed by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, compared the riding positions of bicyclists and position of motorists on sections marked with the shared-use arrow to unmarked sections. An Evaluation of Bike Lanes Adjacent to Motor Vehicle Parking Report (625 KB) Bike lanes have become increasingly popular in recent years and sometimes are retrofitted to existing roadways. This often requires re-striping of the existing traffic lanes, particularly if the roadway has on-street parking. The Pedestrian/Bicycle Safety section of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has received inquiries from local pedestrian/bicycle coordinators about how well a bike lane next to on-street motor vehicle parking operates when the adjacent motor vehicle traffic lane is narrowed. These inquiries prompted this study by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) for the FDOT. Pedestrian Crashes on Five Orlando-Area Arterials (MS PowerPoint Presentation) (496 KB) More than a third of pedestrian fatalities in the three-county metropolitan Orlando area occur on just 1.5% of the area's centerline-miles of roadway. Metroplan Orlando studied all long-form crash reports involving pedestrians on five state roads in the years 1993 through 1997. Although these highways had only 1.5% of the centerline miles in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties, they accounted for 17% of the pedestrian crashes in the region and 36% of the pedestrian deaths. 78% of the crashes occurred at midblock locations or unsignalized intersections. Use of Animated LED 'Eyes' Pedestrian Signals to Improve Pedestrian Safety Report (42 KB) The use of animated searching ‘eyes’ LED signals to elicit looking has a biological and psychological basis which is unique to traffic control signals. This basis makes such devices easy to understand and conspicuous signals that could lead to a marked increase in compliance. In this research, completed under FHWA permission to experiment, FDOT evaluated: The use of the animated ‘eyes’ display as part of the WALK indication on pedestrian signal heads to remind pedestrians to look for turning vehicles; what percentage of the time the animated eyes should be on during the WALK display; whether the animated eyes display assists low vision pedestrians (pedestrians who are legally blind but have some vision) determine when it is their turn to cross; and a comparison of blue vs. white LEDs. Effects of Pedestrian Countdown Signals in Lake Buena Vista Study (1282 KB) The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of countdown signals at intersections in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. A "treatment" and "control" study design was used: countdown signals at two intersections were matched with three control intersections that were similar but did not have countdown signals. The study was performed by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center. Effects of NO RIGHT ON RED/YIELD TO PEDS variable message sign on motorist and pedestrian behavior (952 KB) This report evaluates the effects of
variable message signs in Orlando, Florida, on motorist and pedestrian
behavior. The signs display a NO TURN ON RED message to motorists in the
right-turn lane when they have a red signal. The signs display a YIELD TO
PED message to motorists in the right-turn lane when they have a green
signal. The study was performed by the University of North Carolina Highway
Safety Research Center. Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel: Exploration of Collision Exposure in Florida Survey (2132 KB) In May and June of 2002, telephone
interviews were conducted with adult members of 963 randomly selected
households in the Tampa, Orlando, Miami, and Jacksonville metropolitan
areas to collect data about bicycle and pedestrian travel and collision
involvement. The primary objectives were to compare changes in walking and
bicycling since 1998, when the last such survey was done. Pedestrian and
bicycle trip rates and trip lengths were higher than in the 1998 survey.
Relative to 1998, more people reported crossing intersections with and
without signals, walking on roads without sidewalks, and crossing the
street in the middle of a block.
Bicycling
and Walking Attitudes Survey for FDOT (525 KB) Effect of Wide Curb Lane Conversions on Bicycle and Motor Vehicle Interactions Study (1,026 KB) Operational effects of converting 14-foot wide curb lanes to an 11-foot travel lane with 3-foot undesignated lane were examined. Six mid-block sites and four intersection approaches were selected. Mid-block sites had 4 or 6 lanes; speed limits were 40 or 45 miles per hour. At mid-block sites, the lateral spacing of bicyclists from the gutter pan seam was found to be greater with the stripe than without the stripe. On average, bicycles were ridden 7 to 9 inches farther away from the gutter pan seam at sites where the stripe was newly added. The lateral spacing of motor vehicles from the gutter pan seam was also greater with the stripe as compared to without the stripe. This would be expected with the shift of the travel lane to the left by 3 feet with the addition of the stripe. On average, motor vehicles were driven 6 to 12 inches farther away from the gutter pan seam at sites where the stripe was newly added. Changes in lateral spacing between bicycles and motor vehicles did not indicate a clear-cut effect. At intersection sites, numerous avoidance maneuvers were observed in both the before and after periods, but there were no conflicts (sudden avoidance maneuvers). Findings were similar to those obtained in the earlier Harkey, Stewart and Rodgman study (1996) for the FDOT, which found that the average distance between cyclists and the edge of the roadway was considerably greater on bike lane and paved shoulder facilities than on wide curb lanes. In essence, striping either a standard bike lane or an undesignated lane tends to produce bicycle tracking approximately in the middle of the bike lane or undesignated lane. Evaluation of a Green Bike Lane Weaving Area in St Petersburg A segment of green bicycle lane was marked on an intersection approach in an area where drivers preparing to make right turns weave across the lane. A supplemental sign assembly and a variable message board displayed messages to yield to cyclists. In a second after period, the dotted white lines on the borders of the green bike lane were enhanced with black markings between the white dashes, the roadside sign assembly was moved 65 ft backward, into the (green bike lane) weaving area, another (duplicate) sign assembly was installed 270 ft in advance of the area, and the message on the variable message board was changed to YIELD TO BIKES AND/ CROSS IN THE GREEN. Videotapes of cyclist and motorist operations on the approach were recorded in the before and both after periods. A significantly higher percentage of motorists yielded to bicycles in the after periods. The percentage of motorists that signaled their intention to turn right increased significantly from the before to the after periods. A significantly higher percentage of bicycle riders scanned for proximate vehicles in the after periods. Although the percentage of conflicts (sudden changes in speed or direction made by motorists or cyclists to avoid other motorists or cyclists) was lower in the after periods, the difference was not statistically significant. Most of the conflicts were between motorists maneuvering near the cyclists. In the after periods, the percentage of motorists who crossed the bike lane in the intended dotted-line area (marked green in the after periods) declined about 6 percent, with no significant change between the two after periods. |
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