Safety Effectiveness of Leading Pedestrian Intervals Evaluated by a Before–After Study with Comparison Groups

Abstract

Strategies to reduce pedestrian–vehicle crashes at intersections should be investigated. Implementation of the leading pedestrian interval (LPI) has been recommended as a strategy for reducing pedestrian–vehicle crashes at signalized intersections; however, research on quantification of the safety effects of the LPI has been limited. Site characteristics, traffic volumes, pedestrian volumes, and crash data were obtained for 10 signalized intersections where the LPI was implemented in State College, Pennsylvania. Similar data were obtained for 14 stop-controlled intersections within the State College area. A before–after with comparison group study design was used to evaluate the safety effectiveness of the LPI implementations. The results suggest a 58.7% reduction in pedestrian–vehicle crashes at treated intersections, which is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. An economic analysis was also conducted to determine the cost-effectiveness of the strategy. Given the low cost of this strategy, only a modest reduction in crashes is needed to justify its use economically. On the basis of the estimated safety effectiveness, the necessary crash reduction is easily achievable.