COURTING YOUR BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES... FROM A FORENSIC ENGINEERING AND PLANNING PERSPECTIVE 1
PRESENTED BY: J.M. TEAGUE ENGINEERING, PLLC 2
OBJECTIVES 1. What is Transportation Forensic Engineering 2. Case Studies 3. What Can You Do 3
WHAT IS TRANSPORTATION FORENSIC ENGINEERING? 4
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
WHO ARE OUR CLIENTS Attorneys - Usually Plaintiffs Insurance Adjusters Municipalities - Preventative 6
TYPES OF CASES MUTCD Compliance Pedestrian Trips, Slips, and Falls Work Zone Pedestrian Network Connectivity Traffic Signal Phasing and Operation 7
WHO ARE DEFENDANTS Municipalities Road or Travel way Owners Private Property Owners Commercial Businesses Consulting Firms 8
TYPES OF CASES 9
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
PEDESTRIAN NETWORK (NOTWORK) Complete pedestrian assessment Sidewalks to nowhere No internal connections Marked crosswalks Definition of intersection 11
Employee lot on left Hospital on right 12
Looking west from employee lot toward hospital 13
Sidewalk to nowhere 14
No pedestrian channelization 15
We like our visitors better than our employees 16
Hole in sidewalk 17
Mis-placed sidewalks goat paths 18
Transit is popular 19
Tripping hazard 20
Intersection treatment Yield AND Stop? 21
Unregulated parking on sidewalk 22
Unregulated parking on sidewalk 23
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
WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREEEEEE! Tree in sidewalk Sidewalk divided between ownership Varying surface User Expectation 25
Tree in sidewalk 26
Lots of trees in sidewalk 27
Sidewalk surface 28
Sidewalk surface damage 29
Construction fence damage 30
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
ADA? - WHAT S THAT? High curb Space only 50% ADA available Met local ADA Requirements Did NOT meet user expectation 32
High curb 33
Meets local ADA requirements 34
High curb another view 35
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
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
Case Crossing left turn vehicles approaching from right 38
Wide angle of intersection 39
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
WATCH OUT FOR HIDDEN DRIVE (OR THE ONE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU) Pedestrian crossing in urban area Unconventional intersection Right turn issue 41
Intersection with car path 42
Intersection with crash data 43
Intersection with measurements 44
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
WORK ZONE Pedestrian access in work zone Tripped over barricade Practical placement of barricade 46
Business on left Parking on right 47
Sidewalk closure 48
End of barrier 49
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
J.M. Teague Engineering, PLLC J. Mark Teague, P.E., CPM mark.teague@jmteagueengineering.com 525 North Main Street Waynesville, NC 28786 828-456-8383 www.jmteagueengineering.com 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 kristy.carter@jmteagueenineering.com 51