Intersections equipped with signals that give pedestrians a seven-second head start saw a marked increase in safety.
New York City intersections with traffic signals that give pedestrians a head start saw a 33 percent reduction in fatal and non-fatal injury crashes, according to a study from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
As Dan Zukowski explains in Smart Cities Dive, “Leading pedestrian intervals are a low-cost adjustment to signal timing that increases the likelihood of turning drivers yielding to pedestrians and allows slower-moving people an increased margin of safety, according to the Federal Highway Administration.” The change makes a significant impact since most pedestrian-vehicle crashes occur near the curb.
New York City’s leading pedestrian intervals of seven seconds were associated with improved safety at all types of intersections. Other cities that have installed leading pedestrian interval signals include Gainesville, St. Petersburg, and Tampa, Florida, as well as Seattle and Washington, D.C.
FULL STORY: Pedestrian-friendly traffic signals cut injuries 33% in NYC: study
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