Mid-Block Pedestrian Crossing Exposure: Count Protocol and Database

Details

• Creators:
  Schneider, Robert J. ; Hemze, Nathanael ; Barbee, Henry ; Sveen, Carl ; Thorne, Kyle ; Ogunniyi, Olanrewaju Emmanuel
• Corporate Creators:
  Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety (CPBS) Tier-1 University Transportation Center (UTC) ; University of New Mexico
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Crash characteristics
  • Data collection
  • Land use
  • Midblock crossings
  • Pedestrian counts
  • Pedestrian safety
  • Pedestrian-vehicle crashes
• Publication/ Report Number:
  24UWM04
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Wisconsin
• Edition:
  Final Report (June 2025)
• Corporate Publisher:
  Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety (CPBS) Tier-1 University Transportation Center (UTC)
• Abstract:
  Despite the majority of US fatal and severe pedestrian injuries occurring at mid-block locations, very few communities have collected counts to understand pedestrian mid-block exposure and risk. This study developed a mid-block pedestrian crossing count method and applied it to 63 street segments in the City of Milwaukee, WI. Mid-block pedestrian crossings are common at many locations in Milwaukee and sometimes exceed pedestrian crossings at adjacent intersections. Negative binomial direct demand models showed that mid-block pedestrian crossings were positively associated with the number of commercial retail properties adjacent to the segment and negatively associated with posted speed limit and the number of lanes in the middle of the block. Mid-block pedestrian crossings had a marginal positive relationship with the number of bus stops and surrounding employment density. Examining crash rates, segments with higher mid-block pedestrian volumes tended to have lower mid-block risk per pedestrian crossing. Further, there may be a higher likelihood of fatal and severe pedestrian injuries at mid-block locations when the endpoint intersections do not have traffic control and when there are longer distances between intersections. Our results can be useful for communities to consider as they design commercial districts and other roadway corridors. If a community seeks to create commercial districts that have high levels of pedestrian crossings at mid-block locations, they should have higher-density development (e.g., jobs, bus stops), slower traffic speeds, and fewer traffic lanes (e.g., two or fewer). These conditions are likely to support pedestrian activity and discourage driving, which should reduce mid-block pedestrian crossing crash risk.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  69A3552348336
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/93237/dot_93237_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.32 MB]
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b29a683397bf333ba2b01bf616e232b20ab4f498d3275e6b96dc03f4eefa420eee035302f2cca2458091ae719a57d87339797117a338957d2afa1b028bd40eae