Urban School Area Road Safety Improvement and Assessment with a 3D Piano-Keyboard-Styled Pedestrian Crossing Approach: A Case Study of Chiang Mai University Demonstration School

Abstract

Traffic accidents are a major cause of death in Thailand. Thailand is ranked third in the world by the World Health Organization for traffic-related deaths. Decreasing road accidents is one of the Thailand National Strategy Goals and also the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Several traffic calming tools for school areas were reviewed for safety improvement. An approach of creating a three-dimensional piano-keyboard-styled pedestrian crossing was implemented. It used a one-point perspective technique to increase driver perception when approaching a pedestrian crossing. The assessment data were observed during 12 weeks of a school semester. A roadside camera was used to record vehicles during the morning peak, midday off-peak, and evening peak traffic. The vehicles’ average speeds were used to compare the pre- and post-installation safety. The results showed that after the new crossing was installed, vehicle speeds drastically decreased. After three weeks, vehicle speeds began to increase. After twelve weeks, the vehicle speeds had gradually increased toward the same level as before the installation. A z-test was performed at the 95% significance level (p-value 0.05), showing that the new crossing approach had only affected vehicle speed during the first three weeks post-installation. Driver familiarity behavior and faded paint were major factors in the results.