Safety Assessment of Shared Use Paths at Roadway Crossings using Exposure-Based Models

Shared or multiuse paths invite a wide range of users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and other wheeled users, with a range of transportation purposes such as commuting, exercise, and recreation. Although shared use path (SUP) users are physically separated from traffic, they remain vulnerable at roadway crossings. In the absence of roadway cross-section designs for accommodating pedestrians and bicyclists, SUP crossings can present users with complex tasks including gap selection, scanning for turning vehicles, and interacting with other path users. Ensuring safe crossings for all users at these locations is essential. Pedestrian and bicycle treatments have been developed and their safety effectiveness has been assessed in several studies and practices. Although technically these designs can be applied to SUPs, it is not clear how to integrate treatments for different types of path users, road classifications, land-use contexts, and crossing geometries. With the increasing implementation practices of SUPs across Texas, there is a need to assess the potential safety concerns involving pedestrians, bicyclists, micromobility users, and people with disabilities at these locations and develop guidance for treatment selection, including for paths next to railroads. The research team will explore the pedestrian and bicyclist crashes at the vicinity of SUPs and develop design and planning guidance for implementation purposes.

• Record URL:
  https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/Presto/project=0-7189

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $349999
• Contract Numbers:

  0-7189

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Texas Department of Transportation

  125 E. 11th Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78701-2483
• Managing Organizations:

  Texas Department of Transportation

  125 E. 11th Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78701-2483
• Project Managers:

  Odell, Wade

• Performing Organizations:

  Texas A&M Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System
  3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135

  Texas State University, San Marcos

  JCK Building, Suite 489
  San Marcos, TX  United States 
• Principal Investigators:

  Dadashova, Bahar

• Start Date: 20230901
• Expected Completion Date: 20250831
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bikeways; Intersections; Multiple use; Nonmotorized transportation; Pedestrian movement; Traffic safety; Urban design
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01894829
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Texas Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 0-7189
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 27 2023 3:45PM