Statewide Safety Study of Bicycles and Pedestrians on Freeways, Expressways, Toll Bridges, and Tunnels
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MTI Report 01-01 Norman Y. Mineta International Institute for Surface Transportation Policy Studies Created by Congress in 1991 Statewide Safety Study of Bicycles and Pedestrians on Freeways, Expressways, Toll Bridges, and Tunnels Mineta Transportation Institute San Jos é State University San Jose, CA 95192-0219 MTI Report 01-01 Statewide Safety Study of Bicycles and Pedestrians on Freeways, Expressways, Toll Bridges, and Tunnels Dr. Thomas C. Ferrara, PE September 2001 a publication of the Mineta Transportation Institute College of Business San José State University San Jose, CA 95192 - 0219 Created by Congress in 1991 Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. FHWA/CA/OR-01/20 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Statewide Study of Bicycles and Pedestrians on Freeways, Express- September 2001 ways, Toll Bridges and Tunnels. 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Authors 8. Performing Organization Report No. Thomas C. Ferrara, A. Reed Gibby 01-01 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. Mineta Transportation Institute College of Business, San José State University San Jose, CA 95192-0219 11. Contract or Grant No. 65W136 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered California Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Final Report Sacramento, CA 95819 Research and Special Programs Administration 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 400 7th Street, SW Washington, DC 20590-0001 15. Supplementary Notes This research project was financially sponsored by the U.S. Department of Tranportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration and by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). 16. Abstract The purpose of this study is to attempt to clarify some of the issues pertaining to bicycle on freeways. Specif- ically, the goal of this project is to develop policy recommendations and guidelines for bicycle and pedestrian use of freeway shoulders. Based on the literature and investigations done as part of this study, highway bicycle collision rates per mile of bicycle travel are an order of magnitude higher than collision rates for motor vehicle traffic. Bicycle collisions are no more frequent on bridges and in tunnels than on the approaches to the bridges and tunnels. Overall ve- hicle collision rates are no higher on freeways open to bicycles than they are on adjacent highways open to bicycles. Most freeway pedestrian collisions involve individuals who enter the freeway in a vehicle and leave the vehicle. A disproportionate share of these pedestrian collisions are related to installing and removing tire chains. The project recommendations include: enhanced efforts to inform drivers and passengers of the dangers related to exiting their vehicles on a freeway, a bicycle counting program to establish bicycle ridership and collision rates, a requirement to wear a helmet and possess a drivers license to operate a bicycle on the freeway, a mini- mum of eight foot paved shoulders on freeways that are open to bicycles, and restrictions relating to bicycles crossing freeway ramps on the freeway side. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement bicycle, bicycle collision, bicycle facili- ties, bicycle safety, bicycle travel, free- No restrictions. This document is available to the public ways, expressways, toll bridges, tunnels, through the National Technical Information Service, highway safety, pedestrian safety, pedes- trians, policy, transportation Springfield, VA 22161 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified avg is 156 $15.00 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Copyright © 2001 by MTI All rights reserved Library of Congress Catalog Card Number No. 2001094828 To order this publication, please contact the following: Mineta Transportation Institute College of Business San José State University San Jose, CA 95192-0219 Tel (408) 924-7560 Fax (408) 924-7565 e-mail: [email protected] http://transweb.sjsu.edu ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge the many individuals and organizations that contributed to the success of this study. The project was on a very tight schedule and many people cooperated promptly and efficiently. The assistance is greatly appreciated and most of it is acknowledged here. To those we inadvertently omitted from this list, we also offer our sincere thanks. The research director at the Mineta Institute, Trixie Johnson, had confidence in the project team and supported our efforts throughout the year from early project initiation to peer review of the fi- nal report. Jerri Carmo, Director, Office of Sponsored Programs at San José State University Foun- dation, is also thanked for efficiently expediting our paperwork. The staff at The University Foundation at California State University, Chico, was helpful through- out. Special thanks to Diane M. Johnson for helping with the proposal, Keith Olson, Gina Hall, and Betty Skala for project accounting and financial administration, and to Jeffery Wright, Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs, for his leadership. Academic administrators at California State University, Chico, helped by properly scheduling re- lease time. Dean Ken Derucher of the College of Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, and Chair Maurice Mow of the Department of Civil Engineering deserve recognition. Dagmar Hampton, Administrative Coordinator of at the Civil Engineering Department, often assisted the Chair and helped with project paperwork. The California Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Safety Research, provided techni- cal project monitoring and managed the project advisory committee. Meetings also were sched- uled with the Statewide Pedestrian Safety Task Force. Craig Copelan heads the office and his support was invaluable. Hung Tu Giang ably provided much of the needed assistance promptly and efficiently. His predecessor, Maggie O’Mara, got the project off to a great start. Office engi- neers Ahmad Khorashadi and Greg Tom provided technical assistance. Many individuals statewide, in The California Department of Transportation, were extremely help- ful with project data and in answering questions. Department management at a high level gave this project priority. Debbie Silva and the staff in the TASAS unit were continually efficient in re- sponding very quickly to our collision data needs. The state bicycle coordinator, Richard Blunden, initially, and Ken McGuire, often provided data and insights. Other Caltrans people who provided data and answered questions are Lynn Miller, Mark Suchanek, Kristi Burney, Justin Cochran, Bob Buckley, Jim Douglas, Angi Dodd, Gary Dossey, Troy Scheiber, Tim Rochte, Sharon Severson, and Luis Melendez. Their assistance and support is likewise acknowledged and appreciated. Many individuals from other agencies were very helpful. Deserving of recognition are Peter Tan- nen and Mark Erickson of the City and County of San Francisco; Darrel Perry and Ann Briggs of Washington DOT; Kathleen McConnel of Oregon DOT; Masoud Akbarzadeh, Dan Collin, and Ananth Prasud of Santa Clara County; Jennifer Rice of Natural Resource Services, RCAA; and Bev Christ of the California Highway Patrol SWITTERS unit. Individuals who responded to our request for information on various listserves and through other e-mail contacts are Alan Wachtel, Alan Forkosh, Joshua Putnam, Wilson Hubbel, Alex Zucker- mann, Dan Gutierrez , Riley Geary, and Alan Forkosh. Their input is appreciated. Students from California State University, Chico, who worked to collect data for this project and helped formulate study procedure through preliminary research studies are Julie Blue, Dan Cikuth, Shawn Hagstrom, Jason Wilcox, Mike Winton, Al Reed, and, James Ralston. Curt Haselton great- ly assisted in the response to the peer review. He suggested many improvements in formatting the tables and figures. The work he did and his exemplary helpfulness substantially contributed to the quality of this final report. Student contributions are always an important part of the research work done in the California Public Works Studies Program in Civil Engineering at California State Uni- versity, Chico. Their efforts and questioning certainly improved the quality of this research effort and final report. Jan Botha, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Mellownie Salvador, a graduate student, both at San José State University, completed the surveys of other agencies reported on in Chapter 2. Their considerable effort and productivity was important to this final report. Additionally, the project team reported to the State Wide Pedestrian Safety Task force and obtained guidance from a project steering committee. Members of both groups, not cited above, that made contributions are listed here. Generally, these individuals served as the study advisory committee. They assisted in establishing a work plan, identifying specific highway segments for study, and contributed suggestions to project recommendations: Mr. Zac Wald, Executive Director, BAYPEDS Mr. Chris Morfas, Executive Director, California Bicycle Coalition Mr. Dale Benson, Senior Transportation Engineer, Caltrans Ms. Ann Murphy, Associate Transportation Engineer, Caltrans Dr. David Ragland, Professor of Epidemiology, UC Berkeley Paul J. Ossenbruggen, Ph.D., Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley Mr. Maurice Shiu, Deputy Public Works Director, Transportation, Contra Costa County Mr. Tony Anziano, Deputy Attorney,