Exploring road safety of pedestrians in proximity to public transit access points (bus stops and metro stations), a case study of Montreal, Canada

Abstract

Public transit plays a significant role in the sustainability of an urban region which requires high pedestrian safety at the interchange points. This research studies the magnitude of pedestrian collisions in the proximity of Public Transit Access Points (PTAPs) and address how Traffic Calming strategies and road elements improve pedestrian safety at PTAPs. Getis-Ord Hotspot Analysis and the Negative Binomial models are applied to address research questions. Pedestrian collisions occur more frequently at intersections with the presence of a PTAP and with a higher volume and number of bus routes. Traffic calming strategies such as road width reduction, sidewalk width increase, median refugees, pedestrian crossing phase, and vehicle stop signs could improve pedestrian safety of PTAP. Besides, pedestrians are at more risk in PTAP at locations where high road gradients and in proximity to intersections with a higher number of directions of vehicle traffic flow.