Printing:Transportation Safety and Mobility on IU Bloomington Campus: Tenth Street CorridorPresenter: Eric Gu | Mentor: Scott Robinson | Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs

Research Questions

• Does the installation of Tenth Street mid-way pedestrian crossing island (in August 2010) increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists, or does it worsen the situation by aggravating the congestion during vehicle traffic peak time?

• In the future, when implementing campus transportation policies according to IU TDM strategy, which user groups should be the primary focus in order to achieve the 2022 TDM goal?

Literature Review

• U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration concludes that, if pedestrian crossing islands are designed appropriately, they may reduce pedestrian crashes by 46% and motor vehicle crashes by up to 39%; they may decrease delays (by >30%) for motorists; they allow pedestrians a safe place to stop at the mid-point of the roadway before crossing the remaining distance; they enhance the visibility of pedestrian crossings, particularly at un-signalized crossing points; and they can reduce the speed of vehicles approaching pedestrian crossings.

• Scott Kubly, director of Seattle Department of Transportation states that “By providing a refuge for pedestrians that is removed from the flow of traffic, crossing islands begin to return the street environment, and the city, back to the scale of the human being.”

Project Overview / BackgroundTenth Street, as an important east-west corridor on Indiana University Bloomington campus, serves to accommodate the mixed modes of transportation movement within campus, as well as between points east and west of campus. Currently, 23% of off-campus students, and 71% of employees drive alone to commute to campus. Conversely, only 6% of off-campus students and 5% employees use bicycles as transportation (TDM Final 2012). TDM’s (Transportation Demand Management) goals aim to to reduce drive-alone commuting to campus by 10 percent by year 2022; to elevate status of walking, biking, and carpooling; to build awareness to capitalize on existing programs and build momentum for alternative transportation use; to provide financial incentives for alternative modes; and to provide additional TDM programs and supportive infrastructure improvements.Indiana University Transportation Demand Management study defines the benefits of reducing drive-alone commuting as the following:

Methods

Data Results: Pedestrian Crossing Island

Survey Results: Comments on the Island

Observation Results: Island Usage

ConclusionTo develop a set of campus transportation policies to achieve sustainability goal of 2022, suggested by 2012 TDM plan, social, economic, and environmental approaches should all be deliberated on. As of right now, the installation of the corridor mid-way pedestrian crossing island has reduced crashes by 40%, total vehicle volume and average speed both by around 30%, which has greatly promoted pedestrians and cyclists’ safety. In addition to this, more campus-wide policies and road designs are in great demand to be developed and implemented to effectively help elevate the status of walking, biking and carpooling. While facing certain issues, like vehicle congestion during peak hours, an economic approach, such as parking tax, or restrictions on on-campus student housing parking permits should be considered as one of the ways to decrease incentives to drive. On the other hand, in order to increase incentives to bike, infrastructures such as bike lanes need to be updated, as 70% of the respondents of the online survey call for more bike lanes. With a mix of policy approaches on sustainable transportation, we hope see a greener future at Indiana University by 2020.

Works Cited10th Street Study Area [Personal photograph taken in 1275 E 10th St, Bloomington, IN]. (2016, February).

City of Bloomington Engineering Department. (2009, March 25). Nu-Metrics Traffic Analyzer Study Computer CITYGenerated Summary Report. Retrieved March 1, 2016.

City of Bloomington Engineering Department. (2016, March 8). E. 10th St. Eastbound N. Fee Ln. to N. Jordan CITYAve. Retrieved March 1, 2016.

City of Bloomington Engineering Department. (2016, March 8). E. 10th St. Westbound N. Fee Ln. to N. Jordan CITYAve. Retrieved March 1, 2016.

Indiana University Bloomington [Map]. (2016). In Google Maps. Bloomington, IN: Google.

Kubly, S. (n.d.). SDOT: Welcome to the Pedestrian Toolbox: Crossing Islands/Pedestrian Median Islands. CITYRetrieved April 25, 2016, from CITYhttp://www.seattle.gov/transportation/pedestrian_masterplan/pedestrian_toolbox/tools_deua_islands.hCITYtm

Proven Safety Countermeasures - Medians and Pedestrian Crossing Islands in Urban and Suburban Areas -CITYSafety | Federal Highway Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2016, from CITYhttp://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/fhwa_sa_12_011.cfm

Transportation Demand Management Plan Indiana University Bloomington (Rep.). (2012, November). CITYRetrieved March 18, 2016, from Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. website: CITYhttp://sustain.indiana.edu/resources/docs/transportation-demand-management-study.pdf

87

6273

5560 59

67

4641

47

32 30

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Number of Crashes

Installation of Island for Pedestrian Crossing

40.7%

Using the Pestrian Crosswalk

92%

Not Using

8%

Economic

• Reduce parking demand

• Manage land-use

• Reduce personaltravel cost

• Ease the dependence on non-reusable energy

Social

• Increase choices• Reduce peak

period traffic congestion

• Develop a more livable community

• Improve public health

• Change behavior and lifestyle

• Make a more interactive environment

Environmental

• Lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

• Better air quality• Lower noise

level

To measure the effectiveness of the pedestrian crossing islands on increasing pedestrians safety, Tenth Street traffic data, crash reports, and official documents were analyzed, along with observational data and survey questions reflecting the usage of the island.• Supporting Data and Documents:

• City of Bloomington Accident Data (2003-2015)• City of Bloomington Traffic Speed and Volume Data (2009, 2016)• City of Bloomington Bus Ridership Data (2003-2015)• Campus Bus Ridership Data (2015-2016)• Indiana University Campus Master Plan• 10th Street Mobility Study• Transportation Demand Management Indiana University

• Study Area User Behavioral Data Collection:• 2/22/16 - 2/26/16 9:00-9:15AM pedestrians, vehicles and cyclists raw

count• 2/29/16 - 3/4/16 9:00-9:15AM traffic island usage raw count

• Google Form Online Survey (88 Respondents):• Sources of preferred transportation on campus• Incentives to bike• Ratings of current and future designs or policy changes• General comments on the study area

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10 to 14 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 29 30 to 34 35 to 39 40 to 44 45 to 49

Speed Chart 2009

West Bound East Bound

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10 to 14 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 29 30 to 34 35 to 39 40 to 44 45 to 49

Speed Chart 2016

West Bound East Bound

Speed-29.4%

Volume-31.2%

Vehicles Speed (mph) Vehicles Speed (mph)

Vehicles Quantity Vehicles Quantity

Year

Number of Crashes

Least Favorable

15%

A Little Favorable

19%

Neutral28%

Somewhat Favorable

24%

Most Favorable

14%

“add a light just for

pedestrian”

“is a disaster during peak

times”

“love to see vehicles banned”

“pedestrian bridge is an

excellent idea”

“congested at peak hours”

• Observation data was collected from February 29th to March 4th

9:00AM-9:15AM daily.• A total of 646 pedestrians were

counted during the data collection period.

• “Using the pedestrian crosswalk” is defined as pedestrians or cyclists crossing Tenth Street through the mid-way island.

• Anyone else crossing Tenth Street study area without using either the crosswalks or the mid-way island (jaywalking) is defined as “not using.”