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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14327.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14327.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14327.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14327.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14327.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14327.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14327.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14327.
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Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2009 www.TRB.org T R A N S I T C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M TCRP REPORT 137 Research sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in cooperation with the Transit Development Corporation Subject Areas Public Transit Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments Don Cleghorn Allison Clavelle Jonathan Boone Maurice Masliah ITRANS CONSULTING INC. Toronto, Canada Herbert S. Levinson New Haven, CT

TCRP REPORT 137 Project A-30 ISSN 1073-4872 ISBN 978-0-309-11808-8 Library of Congress Control Number 2009939561 © 2009 Transportation Research Board COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Transit Cooperative Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board’s judgment that the project concerned is appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. The members of the technical advisory panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical panel, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the Transit Development Corporation, or the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical panel according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, the Transit Development Corporation, and the Federal Transit Administration (sponsor of the Transit Cooperative Research Program) do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the clarity and completeness of the project reporting. TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM The nation’s growth and the need to meet mobility, environmental, and energy objectives place demands on public transit systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need of upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency, and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is necessary to solve operating problems, to adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to intro- duce innovations into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it. The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special Report 213—Research for Public Transit: New Directions, published in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration—now the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). A report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Transportation 2000, also recognized the need for local, problem- solving research. TCRP, modeled after the longstanding and success- ful National Cooperative Highway Research Program, undertakes research and other technical activities in response to the needs of tran- sit service providers. The scope of TCRP includes a variety of transit research fields including planning, service configuration, equipment, facilities, operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and administrative practices. TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992. Pro- posed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was autho- rized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum agreement out- lining TCRP operating procedures was executed by the three cooper- ating organizations: FTA, the National Academies, acting through the Transportation Research Board (TRB); and the Transit Development Corporation, Inc. (TDC), a nonprofit educational and research orga- nization established by APTA. TDC is responsible for forming the independent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee. Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodically but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the TOPS Committee to formulate the research program by identi- fying the highest priority projects. As part of the evaluation, the TOPS Committee defines funding levels and expected products. Once selected, each project is assigned to an expert panel, appointed by the Transportation Research Board. The panels prepare project state- ments (requests for proposals), select contractors, and provide techni- cal guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The process for developing research problem statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB in managing cooperative research pro- grams since 1962. As in other TRB activities, TCRP project panels serve voluntarily without compensation. Because research cannot have the desired impact if products fail to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on dissemi- nating TCRP results to the intended end users of the research: tran- sit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit practice, and other support- ing material developed by TCRP research. APTA will arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, and other activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban and rural transit industry practitioners. The TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can cooperatively address common operational problems. The TCRP results support and complement other ongoing transit research and training programs. Published reports of the TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America

CRP STAFF FOR TCRP REPORT 137 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Gwen Chisholm Smith, Senior Program Officer Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Doug English, Editor TCRP PROJECT A-30 PANEL Field of Operations Rongfang “Rachel” Liu, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ (Chair) Susan Dolemba, Utah Transit Authority, Midvale, UT Jose I. Farran, ADAVANT Consulting, San Francisco, CA Scott Friedson, Arizona DOT, Phoenix, AZ Isabel Kaldenbach, Operation Lifesaver, Arlington, VA Gerold C. LaBorde, King County (WA) Metro, Seattle, WA Joseph North, New Jersey Transit Authority, Newark, NJ Vahak Petrossian, Glendale, CA Jerry Powers, FTA Liaison Terrell Williams, FTA Liaison Richard Pain, TRB Liaison C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S

TCRP Report 137: Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Transit Align- ments addresses pedestrian and motorist behaviors contributing to light rail transit (LRT) safety and describes mitigating measures available to improve safety along LRT alignments. The report also includes recommendations to facilitate the compilation of accident data in a coordinated and homogeneous manner across LRT systems. Finally, the report provides a catalog of existing and innovative safety devices, safety treatments, and practices to use along LRT alignments. The results of this research may be useful to transit operators, consultants, and state safety oversight agencies. Previous light rail safety related research, including TCRP Report 17: Integration of Light Rail Transit into City Streets, TCRP Report 69: Light Rail Service: Pedestrian and Vehicular Safety, and TCRP Research Results Digest 5: Second Train Coming Warning Sign Demonstra- tion Projects, looked at a number of safety systems, identified safety measures, and proposed safety enhancements—but they did not provide a systematic approach for the evaluation of current measures. New safety issues, or at least the potential for new safety issues, have arisen and need to be evaluated. Additionally, a review of the actual effectiveness of the pro- posed measures identified in the previous research based on actual experience provides before-and-after examples that could affirm or disprove their safety benefits. In addition, it is currently difficult to compile meaningful safety data in a time-efficient manner. Individual transit agencies have conducted localized safety studies on an ad-hoc basis; however, these studies have not been coordinated or conducted following consistent procedures. A system of compiling safety data is needed to enable transit agencies across the country to report comparable safety data. Under TCRP Project A-30, iTRANS Consulting Inc. was asked to develop a framework or template for collecting data to be used to improve pedestrian and motorist safety along light rail transit alignments. To fulfill this project objective, the research team did the fol- lowing: (1) collected, reviewed, and summarized published and unpublished information from U.S. and foreign LRT systems relevant to safety measures, devices, and practices on LRT alignments, including at-grade crossings and stations with enhanced safety for pedes- trians, motor vehicles, and LRT passengers; (2) conducted a survey of U.S. LRT agencies to gather information on the type of data that are collected after an LRT accident (This infor- mation includes a description of the type of accident data provided to the state safety over- sight agency, as well as the accident information provided to FTA and other regulatory agen- cies.); (3) conducted a survey of LRT systems in North America to identify innovative control devices, applications, and unique operating environments and practices related to F O R E W O R D By Gwen Chisholm Smith Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

light rail safety that have been implemented, including enforcement and educational prac- tices; (4) developed a methodology to perform risk analysis for safety measures at LRT align- ments; and (5) using the information gathered from the data collected, identified success- ful elements and new technologies used to improve light rail safety, described possible factors (including pedestrian and motorist behavior) contributing to LRT safety, and rec- ommended ways to facilitate the compilation of accident data in a coordinated and consis- tent manner across LRT systems.

C O N T E N T S 1 Summary 8 Chapter 1 Introduction 8 Research Problem Statement 8 Research Objectives 8 Phase I 9 Phase II 10 Research Issues 10 Research Approach 10 Structure of Final Report 12 Chapter 2 State of the Practice Methodology and Summary 12 Methodology 12 Literature Review 13 Survey of Agencies 13 Telephone Consultations 14 Site Visits 15 State of the Practice Summary 15 LRT Exposure to Pedestrians and Motor Vehicles 17 Top LRT Safety Issues 19 LRT Safety Treatments 20 Summary 21 Chapter 3 LRT Safety Data Available from Local Transit Agencies, SSOs, and the NTD 21 Data Collection and Transfer between FTA/NTD, SSO, and Local Transit Agencies 22 Collision Data Available, Requested, and Received 22 National Transit Database 23 Purpose of NTD Safety Data Collection 23 Data Collected by NTD 24 The NTD Database 25 NTD Data Quality Issues 31 Analysis of the NTB Database 41 SSO Agencies 41 Purpose of SSO Agency Safety Data Collection 42 Data Collected by SSO Agencies 42 SSO Databases 43 SSO Data Quality Issues 43 Local Transit Agencies 43 Purpose of Local Transit Agency Data Collection 43 Data Collected by Local Transit Agencies 45 Analysis of Local Transit Agency Collision Data

45 Comparison of Databases 46 Comparison of Local Transit Agency and SSO Agency Databases 48 Comparison of Local Transit Agency and NTD Databases 50 Comparison of SSO and NTD Databases 50 Conclusion 52 Chapter 4 Safety Issues and Their Treatment 52 Root Causes and Contributing Factors 53 Determining LRT Safety Issues and Identifying Treatments 53 Studying LRT Safety Issues and Treatments 53 Determining the Highest Risk LRT Safety Issues 54 Building a Safety Analysis Toolkit 55 General Treatment Strategies 56 Chapter 5 LRT Catalog of Safety Treatments 56 Introduction to the Catalog of LRT Safety Treatments 57 LRT Safety Treatments Included in the Catalog 58 Safety Treatment Information Included in the Catalog 59 Chapter 6 LRT Risk Analysis Methodology 59 Introduction to the Concept of Safety Audits 59 Design Stage 60 Preliminary Design Stage 60 Detailed Design 60 In-use Stage 61 Practical Methodology for Safety Audits 61 Select the Safety Audit Team 61 Provide Background Information to the Safety Audit Team 61 Conduct a Pre-audit Meeting to Review Project Information 61 Assess/Analyze Background Information 61 Perform Site Inspections under Various Conditions 61 Prepare and Submit Safety Audit Report 62 Conduct Safety Audit Completion Meeting 62 Prepare Formal Response by Project Owner/Design Team 62 Incorporate Safety Audit Findings into Project 62 Existing Standards 62 DoD Standard Practice for System Safety (MIL-STD-882D) 63 LRT Risk Assessment Checklist 66 Chapter 7 Improving the Accident Data Collection Process 66 Transit Agency Data 66 Agencies with Multiple Accident Report Forms 67 Incident versus Accident Report Forms 67 Categories of Information Included in Accident Reports 70 Supervisory Agency Data 70 SSO Agency Data 70 FTA/NTD Data 71 Redundancies in Data Collection 71 A Potential National Standard Accident Data Collection Procedure 71 Standardized Electronic LRT Incident Reporting 71 Structure of Reporting Forms 72 Record Exposure Data

72 LRT Crossing Database 72 Summary of Information to Be Included in the LRT Collision Database and Reporting Form 74 References 75 Appendix A LRT Catalog of Safety Treatments 147 Appendix B Literature Review—State of the Knowledge 147 Appendix C1 Transit Agencies and Contact Information of the Persons Who Participated in the Survey 147 Appendix C2 Treatment Usage as Reported by the Survey Participants 147 Appendix C3 Survey Responses 147 Appendix D Technical Memoranda 147 Appendix E Review of the Accident Data Collection Process

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TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 137: Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments examines pedestrian and motorist behaviors contributing to light rail transit (LRT) safety and explores mitigating measures available designed to improve safety along LRT alignments. The report also includes suggestions to facilitate the compilation of accident data in a coordinated and homogeneous manner across LRT systems. Finally, the report provides a catalog of existing and innovative safety devices, safety treatments, and practices along LRT alignments. Appendices B through E of TCRP Report 137 were published as TCRP Web-Only Document 42.

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