Considering Usage and Safety Effects in Guidelines for Uncontrolled Midblock Crosswalks

This paper proposes a set of guidelines for marking midblock crosswalks at uncontrolled locations along Florida’s State Highway System through a comprehensive process. The paper summarizes available evidence on the effect of crosswalk markings on pedestrian-vehicle collision risks. Before presenting the proposed guidelines, the paper sets up a simple model of pedestrian-vehicle collision risks, uses this model to identify three mechanisms that help explain why crosswalk markings may lead to higher pedestrian-vehicle collision risks and uses this model to identify engineering treatments to counter these mechanisms. The resultant guidelines are structured to avoid gaps in applicability that would make their implementation difficult. The guidelines are inclusive of all midblock locations with a well established demand and adequate sight distance and lighting. The guidelines include a spreadsheet tool for estimating the likelihood of a new midblock crosswalk being used. The guidelines take into account available evidence that crosswalk markings appear to increase pedestrian-vehicle collision risks as well as uncertainty in that evidence. The guidelines are designed to be provisional and include a monitoring process for implemented midblock crosswalks at uncontrolled locations.