research >>pedestrian safety >>san pablo ave. smart corridor

completed

The TSC has carried out observations and analysis of interactions between motorized and non-motorized users in the 20-mile corridor, which runs from the foot of the Bay Bridge in Oakland through six cities to Hercules in the north corridor. The TSC is also assessing potential steps to reduce conflicts when they occur.

Under contract with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), TSC researchers started by making an assessment of the existing knowledge about pedestrian safety measures in high-volume traffic corridors with an eye to presenting an outreach program targeting affected municipalities and other stakeholders. Information included studies by the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the 2004 pedestrian design guide issued under the auspices of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Next, researchers used California Highway Patrol crash data and GIS-based zone analysis to identify areas of high rates of conflicts between motorized traffic and pedestrian and bicycle users in a three-quarter-mile proximity to San Pablo.

in progress

A major arterial in the East Bay is undergoing signal and system upgrades intended to reduce congestion and travel times for cars and trucks, as well as improve bus speeds and reliability (and, it is hoped, boost ridership). But what about the pedestrians and bicyclists who also use the street?

That is the question Traffic Safety Center researchers are trying to answer as they assess the pedestrian and bicycle safety impacts of making a "Smart Corridor" along San Pablo Avenue, a four-lane roadway that runs on the east shore of San Francisco Bay from the City of Oakland some 20 miles north to the City of San Pablo.

TSC Resources

"San Pablo Avenue Pedestrian Signal Timing Optimization." Ahn Nguyen,
David R. Ragland. TSC Research Report. 2007.

"Timing Is Everything: The TSC Looks at Pedestrian Crossing Signals on a Busy Bay Area Thoroughfare." TSC Newsletter. Winter 2006-2007.

"San Pablo SMART Corridor Designs for Multiple Mode Users." TSC Newsletter. Winter 2005-2006.