The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has released a report that examines motorist yielding behavior at crosswalks with curb extensions, continental markings, and advance stop bars. This report documents a case study evaluating motorist yielding behavior at a crosswalk in Albany, Oregon. In 2003 the City of Albany installed curb extensions, continental markings and advance stop bars at several uncontrolled intersections along the U.S. Highway 20 one-way couplet. The City of Albany requested that an evaluation be conducted to determine if the pedestrian safety improvements functioned as intended. Since the installation in 2003, there had been no data collection effort on the operation of these features.
The focus of this study was the intersection of 4th Avenue and Lyon Street because the nearside crosswalk had a curb extension on only one side of the street, thus allowing for an analysis of motorist behavior toward pedestrians crossing from either the side with the curb extension or the side without. Specifically, this study examined the average number of vehicles that passed between the time a pedestrian arrived at the crosswalk to the time they were able to cross, the percent of vehicles that yielded at the advance stop bar, and the percent of pedestrian crossings in which a vehicle yielded.
Source: Pedestrian Safety Impacts of Curb Extenstions: A Case Study
Published: 2005
