PEDESTRIAN COUNTDOWN TIMERS ARE ESSENTIAL TO FURTHER REDUCE PEDESTRIAN –RELATED COLLISIONS AND SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED CITYWIDE IN SAN FRANCISCO
A pedestrian countdown timer is a flashing timer that signals the number of seconds remaining during the pedestrian crossing phase at an intersection and has led to a significant decrease in the number of pedestrian-related deaths and collisions according to recent statistics. These devices particularly assist disabled or elderly pedestrians, and adults accompanying small children.
A pilot study in San Francisco found that the installation of countdown timers led to a reduction in pedestrian crossings on red from 14% to 9%, and reduction in pedestrian collisions of over 50%. The incidence of pedestrians “running” their crossing significantly decreased, dropping from combined 13 percent to 8 percent.
Pedestrian countdown signal heads show the time remaining for each phase. The City and County of San Francisco has been plagued for years by a high rate of pedestrian–related collisions, leading the City’s Department of Parking and Traffic to inquire into ways to decrease the number of pedestrian collisions at signalized intersections.
The most important findings of the San Francisco pilot study are listed below:
“The percentage of pedestrians still in the crosswalk when the signal turned red showed a statistically significant decrease after CDS installation.
The percentage of pedestrians leaving during the Flashing Red Hand decreased slightly.
The percentage of pedestrians running or aborting their crossings showed a statistically significant decrease.
The percentage of observed vehicle/pedestrian conflicts decreased.”
Moreover, approximately 92 percent of post-installation interviewees stated that countdown signals were “more helpful” than conventional pedestrian signals because they showed the time remaining to cross leaving less room for speculation and error.
Says Jack-the-San-Francisco-Traffic-Man:
“This is not the intent of the countdowns, which are aimed at pedestrians. We do see it as a side benefit, since drivers do use the countdowns in this way and it’s especially useful for trucks and buses since their stopping distance is longer than a car, and the yellow is timed for the deceleration rate of cars. It is also great for bicyclists, since they often can’t clear a wide street on the yellow. Seeing the countdowns, many bicyclists will stop safely and wait for the next green.”
But, he adds, “the timers can’t match up with traffic lights at all intersections. In San Francisco, there are a lot of streets where left turns are few or banned, like 19th Avenue, Market Street and The Embarcadero. This makes it easy to match the countdown timer for pedestrians with the amount of time before traffic lights goes from green to yellow.”
It is abundantly clear that pedestrian timers are extremely helpful in the quest for safer roads. The City of San Francisco reported a 25 percent drop in pedestrian crashes in the first three years after countdown signals were installed at 579 intersections, while vehicle crashes fell even more — 34 percent.
Based on the data acquired which demonstrates the vast increase in pedestrian safety via the installation of countdown signals at intersections in San Francisco where they have been installed, it is an essential device that should be expanded to every signalized intersection in the City to further decrease the number of pedestrian-related collisions in the future.
By Jennifer Nicoletto, Esq.