Planning to keep pedestrians safe

Arecent headline caught my attention and encouraged me to write this brief article. The headline was “Pedestrian Deaths Set a Four-Decade Record in 2022”. The national numbers for pedestrian deaths reached a record high in 2021 and we as a nation exceeded that again in 2022 according to the StreetsBLOG USA article.

The story reported that “at least” 7,508 people on foot were killed by drivers on U.S. roads last year. “At least” was used because Oklahoma did not report their numbers by the deadline. This loss of pedestrian lives is a 77 percent increase since 2010.

I have written in the past about the Safety Performance Measures that the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments (CWCOG), as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Longview Urban Area, is required to set each year. Based on Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) data our region is contributing to the problem although we saw a decrease in incidents for our County in 2022.

In 2022 there were 17 pedestrians or cyclists injured through vehicular accidents, and fortunately no fatalities in that year. Most of those were in the Longview/Kelso area. Seven of those injured sustained serious injuries. The five-year running average of accidents with serious injuries or fatalities is 24. Over the past five years we have averaged 38 total crashes between motor vehicles and bikes or pedestrians.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) program began in 2017 with a goal of helping state and local agencies reduce pedestrian fatalities at roadway crossings. The STEP program promotes the “spectacular seven” countermeasures to improve pedestrian safety at crossings: crosswalk visibility enhancements; raised crosswalks; pedestrian refuge islands; rectangular rapid flashing beacons; pedestrian hybrid beacons (PHBs); road diets; and leading pedestrian intervals. STEP has documented more than 30 case studies that highlight the safety benefits of each of the countermeasures. Local agencies in Cowlitz County have been installing many of these countermeasures in recent years and will continue to do so moving forward.

In addition to the countermeasures mentioned above, planning agencies like the CWCOG and local agencies are working to address items that influence safety through road users and roadway design.

• Speed: Includes efforts to lower speed limits through design and legislative action as well as conducting more education on the dangers of speeding to change the cultural mindset that does not view speeding as a serious problem. Of the 45 vehicle accidents in 2022, 29 of them involved speeding drivers in Cowlitz County.

• Roadway Design: Support pedestrian safety through traffic calming, establish slow zones beyond the traditional school zones, conduct pedestrian safety audits, and implement complete streets policies.

At the national level regulators and automotive manufacturers are exploring technological aids to improve safety. Newer vehicles along with yet to come connected and autonomous vehicles will enable drivers to see pedestrians sooner and engage emergency braking systems when necessary.

The CWCOG will be working with area cities and Cowlitz County to develop safety action plans over the next year. The plans will serve as a holistic, well-defined strategy to prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries in the region.

The comprehensive safety action plan that a Safe Streets and Roads for All grant funds includes the following key components according to the FHWA:

• Leadership commitment and goal setting that includes a goal timeline for eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries.

• Planning structure through a committee charged with oversight of the Action Plan development, implementation, and monitoring.

• Safety analysis of the existing conditions and historical trends provides a baseline level of crashes involving fatalities and serious injuries across a jurisdiction, or region.

• Engagement and collaboration with the public and relevant stakeholders, including the private sector and community groups, that allows for both community representation and feedback.

• Equity considerations developed through a plan using inclusive and representative processes.

• Policy and process changes that assess the current policies, plans, guidelines, and/or standards to identify opportunities to improve how processes prioritize transportation safety.

• Strategy and project selections that identify a comprehensive set of projects and strategies, shaped by data, the best available evidence, and noteworthy practices, as well as stakeholder input and equity considerations, that will address the safety problems described in the action plan.

• Progress and transparency methods that measure progress over time after an Action Plan is developed or updated, including outcome data.

For the benefit of all, slow down and watch for bicycles and pedestrians as you move around town. Remember to stop for pedestrians in and near crosswalks.

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