PEDESTRIAN REFUGE ISLAND SAFETY AUDIT

Public agencies are aware of the growing need to better accommodate the safety and security of pedestrians in the roadway environment. The use of refuge islands by themselves or in conjunction with pedestrian crossovers has greatly enhanced safety in Toronto, Canada. Over the past ten years there have been more than 60 islands implemented in the city of Toronto and surrounding jurisdictions. Officials in the City of Toronto initiated a review of the operation of the islands to gain insight into design issues and safety implications since the use of pedestrian refuge islands (PRI) and split pedestrian crossovers (SPXO) are becoming a more common roadway element. It has become important to document standard practices, deficiencies and the effectiveness of the islands in order to provide a basis for a comprehensive audit of the islands practices and operational experiences. It is expected that the use of islands will encourage pedestrian crossing of major roads at locations other that signalized intersections. The benefits of the islands in terms of the simplifying the crossover maneuver for pedestrians is weighted against a potentially more aggressive pedestrian behavior and likelihood of increases in pedestrian crossing activity and the resultant exposure to conflict with vehicles. This paper will review the conditions of implementation of islands that may be beneficial or problematic.

• Record URL:
  http://www.roadwaysafetyaudits.org/library/item216.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Full conference proceedings available on CD-ROM, ISBN 0935403604.
• Corporate Authors:

  Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)

  Washington, DC  United States 
• Authors:
  • Bacquie, R
  • Egan, D
  • Ing, L
• Conference:
  • Improving Transportation Systems Safety and Performance. 2001 Spring Conference and Exhibit
  • Location: Monterey, California
  • Date: 2001-3-25 to 2001-3-28
• Publication Date: 2001

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 11p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crossovers; Crosswalks; Islands; Pedestrian flow; Pedestrian safety; Public policy; Signalized intersections; Traffic control
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Policy; Safety and Human Factors; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00812106
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 17 2001 12:00AM