COURTING YOUR BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES... FROM A FORENSIC ENGINEERING AND PLANNING PERSPECTIVE

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Clemence Lyons
8 years ago
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1 COURTING YOUR BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES... FROM A FORENSIC ENGINEERING AND PLANNING PERSPECTIVE 1

2 PRESENTED BY: J.M. TEAGUE ENGINEERING, PLLC 2

3 OBJECTIVES 1. What is Transportation Forensic Engineering 2. Case Studies 3. What Can You Do 3

4 WHAT IS TRANSPORTATION FORENSIC ENGINEERING? 4

5 DEFINITION Transportation forensic engineering is the investigation of transportation systems or related attributes that fail, are substandard, or do not operate or function as intended, causing personal injury or damage to property. 5

attributes that fail, are substandard, or do not operate

6 WHO ARE OUR CLIENTS Attorneys - Usually Plaintiffs Insurance Adjusters Municipalities - Preventative 6

7 TYPES OF CASES MUTCD Compliance Pedestrian Trips, Slips, and Falls Work Zone Pedestrian Network Connectivity Traffic Signal Phasing and Operation 7

8 WHO ARE DEFENDANTS Municipalities Road or Travel way Owners Private Property Owners Commercial Businesses Consulting Firms 8

9 TYPES OF CASES 9

10 PEDESTRIAN NETWORK (NOTWORK) Employees reporting to work at a large hospital were not provided adequate pedestrian connections from the employee lot to the building 10

11 PEDESTRIAN NETWORK (NOTWORK) Complete pedestrian assessment Sidewalks to nowhere No internal connections Marked crosswalks Definition of intersection 11

12 Employee lot on left Hospital on right 12

13 Looking west from employee lot toward hospital 13

14 Sidewalk to nowhere 14

15 No pedestrian channelization 15

16 We like our visitors better than our employees 16

17 Hole in sidewalk 17

18 Mis-placed sidewalks goat paths 18

19 Transit is popular 19

20 Tripping hazard 20

21 Intersection treatment Yield AND Stop? 21

22 Unregulated parking on sidewalk 22

23 Unregulated parking on sidewalk 23

24 WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREEEEEE! Pedestrian was walking along a sidewalk and while avoiding a tree planted within the walking area tripped on an uneven surface 24

25 WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREEEEEE! Tree in sidewalk Sidewalk divided between ownership Varying surface User Expectation 25

26 Tree in sidewalk 26

27 Lots of trees in sidewalk 27

28 Sidewalk surface 28

29 Sidewalk surface damage 29

30 Construction fence damage 30

31 ADA? - WHAT S THAT? Driver parks in accessible space and attempts to egress from the driver side of the car. She steps up onto curb from parking lot surface and trips due to abrupt elevation change from parking lot surface to curb to sidewalk. 31

32 ADA? - WHAT S THAT? High curb Space only 50% ADA available Met local ADA Requirements Did NOT meet user expectation 32

33 High curb 33

34 Meets local ADA requirements 34

35 High curb another view 35

36 TO PUSH OR NOT TO PUSH THAT IS THE QUESTION Pedestrian was hit by left turning vehicle. There is a question as to whether she walked on a Walk or Don t Walk signal 36

37 TO PUSH OR NOT TO PUSH THAT IS THE QUESTION Pedestrian push button Long walk cycle Heavy pedestrian use History of Lack of using push button at intersection 37

38 Case Crossing left turn vehicles approaching from right 38

39 Wide angle of intersection 39

40 WATCH OUT FOR HIDDEN DRIVE (OR THE ONE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU) Pedestrian was crossing in an urban area and was hit by a vehicle crossing the intersection diagonally into a private driveway. 40

41 WATCH OUT FOR HIDDEN DRIVE (OR THE ONE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU) Pedestrian crossing in urban area Unconventional intersection Right turn issue 41

42 Intersection with car path 42

43 Intersection with crash data 43

44 Intersection with measurements 44

45 WORK ZONE Pedestrian parked legally adjacent to workzone and needed to walk around the barrier end to access the sidewalk. She tripped on the barricade stand. 45

46 WORK ZONE Pedestrian access in work zone Tripped over barricade Practical placement of barricade 46

47 Business on left Parking on right 47

48 Sidewalk closure 48

49 End of barrier 49

50 TAKEAWAYS User Expectation verses Requirement (ADA) MUTCD Compliant (Hospital) Sidewalk / Trail Owner can be party to litigation (Tree) Phased Crossings (Long Crossing) Driveway permits Municipalities (Urban) Crossing Choice Sidewalk / Trail User (Urban) Shorter pedestrian crossing distance Countdown Signals (Long Crossing) Balance for all road users (Work Zone) Finish your connections or strategically end them (Hospital) 50

51 J.M. Teague Engineering, PLLC J. Mark Teague, P.E., CPM 525 North Main Street Waynesville, NC SERVICES Traffic Engineering Forensic Engineering Transportation Planning Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Greenway and Trail Planning Local Government Planning Education and Training Collaboration Management Kristy Carter, AICP 51

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AND LAWS IN PENNSYLVANIA

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AND LAWS IN PENNSYLVANIA Gary N. Modi, P.E., Chief Safety Management Division Bureau of Highway Safety & Traffic Engineering & Christopher A. Drda, P.E., Chief Consultant Agreement Section