Treatments Used at Pedestrian Crossings of Public Transit Rail Services (2015) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 43-52
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From page 43... ...
CHAPTER 5: TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS INTRODUCTION The online survey of practitioners asked responding participants if they would be willing to be contacted by a member of the research team to discuss pedestrian crossing treatments or issues. The purpose of these supplemental telephone interviews was to ask for further details on specific treatments, perceived effectiveness at reducing conflicts, experiences with education or enforcement programs, concerns with -- in addition to treatments implemented because of -- NEPA requirements, and results of any studies or surveys that the transit agency may have conducted.
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• NEPA accommodation (Questions 12 and 13)
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TELEPHONE INTERVIEW RESPONSES This section summarizes the findings from telephone interviews undertaken by nine transit agency persons who identified their interest in being contacted for further discussion within the online survey. It begins with a section of general findings gleaned from the conversations, with following sections related to the six areas of interest defined above.
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o Active warning systems (lights/gates/bells) were stated to be placed on the outside of the sidewalk on some occasions, which allows the gates to cover both the sidewalk and roadway when activated.
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Markings Several respondents feel that markings provide clear delineation for pedestrians, with one observation being that users do not like standing on markings and will stop behind a marking to wait for a train to pass. Another observation is that markings benefit train operators in seeing people intruding into the right-of-way by providing a delineation line.
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agency is using a device that adjusts the volume output to be 10 decibels over the ambient decibel level. Another option to reduce the noise impact on the surrounding area is to only have the bell sounding while the gate arms are lowering and rising, instead of constantly chiming.
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o Utilizing an active sign that consists of an arrow at the top that points one way and a second arrow on the bottom that points the other way. The goal is to get users to look both ways before crossing the tracks.
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In terms of using a checklist, one transit agency indicated they use a formal checklist, while another transit agency indicated they use an informal checklist for internal use only. Others indicated that the MUTCD or other guidance documents were the references used.
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message spreads. In determining effectiveness, one respondent felt that enforcement helps greatly in the short term but was not certain that behaviors are permanently adjusted as a result of enforcement activities.
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Another general finding is that they all seem to know what each other is doing and will copy each other if they think it is a good idea. One person indicated that they now flash the lights on their device because someone else started flashing the lights.
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