PEDESTRIAN OVERCROSSINGS-CRITERIA AND PRIORITIES

THREE BASIC APPROACHES TO ESTABLISHING WARRANTS FOR PEDESTRIAN OVERPASSES ARE DISCUSSED, FOLLOWING WHICH CRITERIA FOR SUCH STRUCTURES ARE RECOMMENDED AND THEN EVALUATED FROM THE STANDPOINT OF PRACTICAL DECISION-MAKING. THE ECONOMIC APPROACH TO WARRANTS HAS THE SHORTCOMING THAT WHEREAS VEHICLE DELAY COSTS CAN BE FAIRLY WELL QUANTIFIED, NO SUCH METHOD EXISTS FOR THE VALUE OF PEDESTRIAN TIME. INDIRECT METHODS, SUCH AS RIGHT-OF-WAY, SEVERANCE, AND BUSINESS LOSS MIGHT BE USED. THE SYSTEM APPROACH TO WARRANTS RELATES THE OVERPASS TO TOTAL CIRCULATION WITHIN AN AREA, BUT EVENTUALLY IT MUST FACE THE QUESTION OF HOW MUCH INCONVENIENCE CAN BE FORCED ON INDIVIDUAL DRIVERS AND PEDESTRIANS BEFORE REMEDIAL ACTION IS TAKEN. THE THIRD APPROACH TO WARRANTS IS THE POINT METHOD, WHEREBY DECISION- MAKING FACTORS ARE SELECTED AND THEN WEIGHTED. THIS METHOD SUFFERS FROM QUANTIFYING INTANGIBLE FACTORS SUCH AS PEDESTRIAN TYPE. ONE OF THE MAJOR PROBLEMS IN APPLYING ANY METHOD IS THAT THE LOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE OVERPASS MUST BE SELECTED WITH GREAT CARE. IN CBD LOCATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT-OF-WAY IS AT A PREMIUM AND PEDESTRIANS CANNOT NORMALLY BE COMPELLED TO USE AN OVERPASS. (IN A LOS ANGELES STUDY, FEWER THAN 2% OF ADULT PEDESTRIANS CROSSING A NONCONTROLLED ACCESS ARTERIAL WITH AN ADT OF 45,000 CHOSE TO USE THE OVERPASS.) SIX CRITERIA ARE RECOMMENDED FOR DETERMINING THE NEED FOR AN OVERPASS: (1) MAGNITUDE OF DESIRE, (2) AVAILABILITY OF A REASONABLE ALTERNATIVE, (3) AVAILABILITY, WITHIN ONE FURLONG OF THE PROPOSED LOCATION, OF A TRAFFIC SIGNAL, STOP SIGN, OR OTHER GRADE-SEPARATED REDESTRIAN FACILITY, (4) THE POTENTIAL TO PREVENT PEDESTRIANS FROM CROSSING AT GRADE, (5) THE PRACTICALITY OF CONSTRUCTING AN OVERPASS, AND (6) TRAFFIC AND PEDESTRIAN VOLUMES ABOVE THOSE REQUIRED TO WARRANT THE INSTALLATION OF A PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL OR SCHOOL SIGNAL AS STATED IN THE "MANUAL ON UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES." AS THERE ARE TYPICALLY MORE LOCATIONS THAT MEET THESE CRITERIA THAN THERE ARE FUNDS AVAILABLE TO BUILD THE OVERPASSES, DECISIONS OF RELATIVE IMPORTANCE MUST BE MADE. THE CITY OF SEATTLE HAS DEVELOPED A POINT SYSTEM OF ASSIGNING PRIORITIES TO PROPOSED LOCATIONS. THE CATEGORIES IN WHICH POINTS ARE ASSESSED ARE VOLUME CHARACTERISTICS, ACCIDENT CHARACTERISTICS, AND OTHER INFLUENCING FACTORS. THE SYSTEM IS DESCRIBED IN DETAIL. WHERE FULL ACCESS CONTROL IS ASSURED, THE QUESTION OF INCONVENIENCE TO THE DRIVER DISAPPEARS, AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS COME TO THE FORE, SUCH AS ABILITY TO PREVENT AT-GRADE CROSSING; COMMUNITY NEEDS; RELATION OF THE HIGHWAY TO SCHOOLS, FACTORIES, SHOPPING CENTERS, AND SIMILAR FACILITIES; AND THE AVAILABILITY OF ALTERNATIVES TO THE OVERPASS. THE ARTICLE CONCLUDES WITH A DISCUSSION OF THE DESIGN FEATURES OF OVERPASSES AND UNDERPASSES, AND PARTICULARLY OF THE DRAWBACKS OF UNDERPASSES FROM THE STANDPOINT OF VANDALISM AND PERSONAL SAFETY.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • VOL 43 NO 1 PP 34-9,68
• Publication Date: 1972-10

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Traffic Engineering, Inst Traffic Engr
  • Volume: 43
  • Issue Number: 1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Arterial highways; Footbridges; Freeways; Pedestrian vehicle interface; Streets; Traffic conflicts; Traffic volume; Warrants (Traffic control devices)
• Uncontrolled Terms: Criteria
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00224163
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 23 1973 12:00AM