IN-STREET YIELD TO PEDESTRIAN SIGN APPLICATION IN CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA

Vehicle-pedestrian crashes are a major concern for highway safety analysts. Research reported by Hunter et al. in 1996 indicated that one-third of the 5,000 vehicle-pedestrian crashes investigated occurred at intersections, and 40% of those were at non-controlled intersections. The Traffic Engineering Department of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a city of approximately 125,000 people, frequently received letters expressing concern for pedestrian safety at non-controlled intersections. This report summarizes the results from a small-scale study to evaluate the effect of an experimental in-street sign, "State Law--Yield to Pedestrians in Crosswalk." Three sites with widely different characteristics were selected by the city, and the Center for Transportation Research and Education at Iowa State University provided a small-scale assessment. Although only two of the sites were open to normal traffic flow during the study period, all sites are generally discussed in this report.