| dc.contributor.author | Bittner, Michael Howard | |
| dc.description.abstract | Meeting dual objectives of pedestrian safety and motorist convenience at pedestrian
crossings in school zones is an important and continuing challenge for all local
communities. Pedestrian safety is influenced by pedestrian delays as well as motorist
compliance of controls. Motorist convenience is influenced by the delay experienced by
drivers. Conventional crosswalk control devices such as marked crosswalks and pedestrian
signals are not always adequate or efficient in balancing these two crucial but conflicting
objectives. The 2009 edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)
has paved the way for the use of a brand new crosswalk control device known as the
pedestrian hybrid beacon (PHB). Previous research has provided evidence of this device's
effectiveness in the area of motorist compliance and reduced motorist delay compared to
traditional pedestrian signals. No prior research has been conducted on the PHB in the
school zone context or on children pedestrians in general.
This research has two objectives. The first objective was to analyze MUTCD
Warrant 5 standards, which are designed for pedestrian signals in school zones, and the
new PHB standards. This analysis will use pedestrian volume, vehicle volume, and gap
availability on different test locations to conduct a comparative analysis of the two sets of
standards. The purpose of this objective is to determine the transferability of the new
MUTCD PHB standards in the school zone context. The second objective of this research
was to evaluate three crosswalk control devices; marked crosswalks, pedestrian signals, and PHBs, for their ability to effectively address pedestrian safety and motorist
convenience at school crossings.
It was found that the PHB performed significantly better than traditional marked
crosswalks but not markedly different than conventional pedestrian signals in the ability to
balance the objectives of pedestrian safety and motorist convenience. The absence of
improvements in performance of the PHB when compared to the pedestrian signal can be
attributed to the fact that only 8.8% of motorists correctly utilized the PHB at the test
location in Fargo, North Dakota. The most significant contribution of this thesis was
finding that the current PHB standards in MUTCD are not transferable to the school zone
context. For PHBs to be considered a viable option for engineers designing and controlling
school crosswalks, it is essential that the MUTCD have school zone specific standards or
guidance. The analysis carried out in this research provides insights into how such
standards can be established and applied. | en_US |
| dc.publisher | North Dakota State University | en_US |
| dc.rights | NDSU policy 190.6.2 | en_US |
| dc.title | Analysis and Evaluation of the Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon in School Zones | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-04-06T21:11:10Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-04-06T21:11:10Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2010 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10365/33774 | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Brain -- Concussion. | en_US |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Head -- Wounds and injuries. | en_US |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Sports injuries. | en_US |
| dc.rights.uri | https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf | en_US |
| ndsu.college | Engineering | en_US |
| ndsu.department | Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering | en_US |
| ndsu.program | Civil Engineering | en_US |
| ndsu.advisor | Varma, Amiy | |
