Innovative Approaches to Identify and Overcome Pedestrian Barriers in Milwaukee

We will summarize three methods used to identify pedestrian barriers as a part of the 2018 City of Milwaukee Pedestrian Master Plan, which was undertaken to make Milwaukee more pedestrian-friendly for people of all ages and abilities. Building on recent  developments in pedestrian safety and travel behavior research, we: 1) estimated pedestrian crash rates at intersections, 2) observed driver yielding behavior at uncontrolled crosswalks, and 3) gathered perceptions of barriers through a combination of online and door-to-door surveys. We estimated pedestrian crash rates by first developing a statistical model of annual pedestrian counts for all 4,470 intersections along major roadways in Milwaukee. By controlling for pedestrian exposure, we found that the highest-risk intersection in the city experienced more than 28 pedestrian crashes per million crossings and that the top 20 intersections all had more than 10 pedestrian crashes per million crossings. The highest-risk intersections were mostly along wider roadways with higher traffic volumes in lower-density areas. Complementing the crash risk analysis, we observed pedestrian crossings at 40 uncontrolled intersections along main roadways. Overall, one in five drivers yielded to pedestrians, though yielding rates ranged from 61% to 0%. Drivers were more likely to yield when traveling on roadways with lower speed limits, less traffic, and shorter crossing distances and when pedestrians clearly indicated their intent to cross. Finally, 1,720 people answered the Pedestrian Plan Survey. More than 1,000 respondents wrote an open-ended concern about pedestrian safety or security barriers, including bad driver behavior, high traffic speeds, poor winter maintenance, lack of traffic enforcement, and perceived risk of crime. Consistent findings across methods provided a solid foundation for the Pedestrian Plan. Our presentation will conclude with examples of how the City is taking action to overcome pedestrian barriers through engineering, education, and enforcement strategies and its overarching Complete Streets approach.