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Walking in San Francisco: Safety

& Walkability Comparison to Best Practices

SafeTRECNovember 16, 2012

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AGENDA

• What is a Walkable Community?• San Francisco Pedestrian

Environment• Best Practices • What’s Next

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HOW SAN FRANCISCO WALKING RANKS VS. U.S. AND GLOBAL

LEADERS

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Walk Friendly Communities

• San Francisco awarded Gold Level Walk Friendly Community Status by U. of North Carolina

• Commitment to improving and sustaining walkability and pedestrian safety

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Criteria Cover: 5 E’s (Elements) of Pedestrian Safety

Engineering (And Planning)

Enforcement

Education

Encouragement

Evaluation

Strong Elements Support Each Other

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Seattle’s “Platinum Level” Pedestrian Program

• Planning

• Parking Management

• Engineering & Design

• Encouraging Walking

• Enforcement

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WalkScore Ratings

• SF ranked 2nd of major US cities in walkability, – barely behind NYC in

2011, and #1 in US in 2008

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SF Pedestrian Injuries & Fatalities

• High Injuries/Fatalities Per Resident• Relatively Low Per Walk Trip

Surface Transportation Policy Project And Transportation for America, DangerousBy Design, 2009

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SF Walk Share

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SAN FRANCISCO PEDESTRIAN INJURY TRENDS AND PATTERNS

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Pedestrian Injuries per 100,000 Residents

1990 2000 2006 20080

50

100

150

200

250

LondonNew YorkSFSeattle

San Francisco: Severe/Fatal Pedestrian Injury Trends and Goals

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Concentration of Injuries

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Nonfatal Pedestrian Injury Collisions by Primary Cause

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SAN FRANCISCO PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AND WALKABILITY

EFFORTS

16Pedestrian Countdown Signals

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SF Road Diets

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Valencia Street

Road Diet in 1999

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Valencia Street 2010

• Streetscape Project:

-Widened sidewalks -Bulb outs -Widened bike lanes -Street trees -Decorative lighting -Public art -On-street bike parking -Truck loading zones -Bi-directional 12mph “Green wave” for safer steadier traffic speeds

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Road Diet Impacts• Valencia Street:

Total crashes down 20%

• Alemany:Total crashes down 35% (68 to 44), Ped: down 60% (8 to 3)

• Mansell: Speeds down 4-14%. Midblock collisions down 84%

21Street Redesigns: Promoting Walking

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SF Pavements to Parks

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SF Pavements to Parks

24Pedestrian Safety Campaigns

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SAN FRANCISCO PEDESTRIAN PLANNING

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Better Streets Plan• Design Guidelines

for the Pedestrian Realm

• Developed by Multiple Agencies, Adopted by Board of Supervisors

• Key Topics:• Standard Elements for

Street Types• Best Practices and

Design Guidelines for Safety Measures, Lighting, Drainage, etc.

• Pedestrian Priority Spaces

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Better Streets Plan: Street Types

Downtown Residential

Residential Throughway

Neighborhood Residential

Sample Street Type Photos and Typical Sections

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Better Streets Plan: Street Elements

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Better Streets Plan: Street Redesign

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WalkFirst• Priorities for

Improving Pedestrian Environment

• Identified Priority Streets– Based on Safety

and Walking Potential

• Priority Physical Improvements

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SAN FRANCISCO PEDESTRIAN STRATEGY

Pedestrian Strategy

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Executive Directive 10-03• Reduce serious and fatal pedestrian injuries by 25%

by 2016 and 50% by 2021• Increasing walking• Decreasing geographic safety disparities

HOW9 Near term action items

Develop plan with Short, Mid & Long term action items

Vision: Great Walking Streets

San Francisco is the most walkable city in North America, where walking is preferred for most very short trips, and the pedestrian environment is:

• Safe,• Convenient• Accessible• Sustainable• Memorable• Vibrant• Supportive of diverse

public life, healthy lifestyles and comfort

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Goal 1. Reduce Pedestrian Injuries

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OBJECTIVE AND INDICATORS

REPORTING AGENCY

PRELIMINARY PROPOSED TARGETS

FY2014 FY2016 FY2021

Reduce # of Reported Severe/Fatal Injuries SFDPH

15% reductio

n

25% reduction

50% reduction

Increase # of Enforcement Hours SFPD Increase

10%Increase

20%Increase

30%

Slow 85th Percentile Speeds SFMTA

Within 5 mph of speed limit

Within 4 mph of

speed limit

Within 3 mph of

speed limit

Resident Perceptions of Traveler Behavior,

Importance of Traffic Laws

SFMTA/SFDPH

Establish baseline

Improvement

Improvement

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44 Miles of Comprehensive Redesign

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Redesign Toolbox

• Pedestrian countdown signals • Increase crossing time to 3.5 feet

per second

• Upgrade curb ramps

• Install raised crosswalks

• Expand pavements to parks program

• Pilot innovative treatments

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Supportive Plans and Programs

• Implement Enforcement PlanTargeted enforcementExpand collision report

• Increase distribution of walking maps

• Traffic Reduction strategiesMobility and access pricingCar free, shared street or living street

• Complete and adopt Green Connections project

Institutions and Policies

• Improve Capacity to Deliver and Promote Safety and Walkability Improvements

• Seek Statewide Policy Reform

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Data and Evaluation

• Multi-agency monitoring • Evaluations of projects

and progress• Injury pattern analysis• Pedestrian safety and

environmental assessments

• Capital project list prioritized, refined, environmentally cleared

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0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Ped

estr

ian

C

olli

sio

ns

Year

Funding and ImplementationUp to $800 Million Needed to Implement Strategy

– New funding needed– Direct existing sources for other

modes more toward pedestrian needs– Improve efficiencies

Agencies Need to Show They Can Use New Funding Effectively

– Build staff capacity– Improve “complete streets” project

development, prioritization, implementation

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BEST PRACTICES

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BEST PRACTICES: Policy

• SWEDEN• 1997 Swedish

Parliament committed to eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2020

• Results:– Traffic fatalities cut

by 35% in 12 years through 2009

– Pedestrian fatalities reduced almost 50% in recent 5 years.

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BEST PRACTICES: Traffic Engineering

• Pedestrian Countdown Signals• Additional Crossing Time• Rectangular Rapid Flashing

Beacons• Hybrid Pedestrian Beacon• Separation of Pedestrians and Left

Turns

(Photo courtesy of Spot Devices)

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BEST PRACTICES: Traffic Calming and Streetscape

• Road Diets– Pedestrian Refuge Island

• Reduced Speeds through Traffic Signal Progression

• Vertical and Horizontal Displacement– Raised Crosswalks– Traffic Circles

• Widening Sidewalks• Improved Lighting• Pedestrian Priority Areas

– Parklets– Plazas or Car-Free Areas

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BEST PRACTICES: Enforcement

• Automated Red Light Running & Speed Enforcement

• Targeted Enforcement

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BEST PRACTICES: Community Involvement

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Providing Meeting Information

Examples from Philadelphia and Chicago

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Obtaining Comments from Public

Chicago’s Way of Obtaining Comments

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Data/Tools RepositorySeattle’s Pedestrian Toolbox – tiered pages with many options

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BEST PRACTICES: Vehicle Design

• Automated Pedestrian Detection

• Crash Damage Reduction

Photo courtesy of Mobileye Inc.

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SUMMARY: WHAT’S NEXT?

• Pedestrian Facilities Joining Mainstream of Transportation Planning & Engineering

• Advanced Technologies Incorporate Pedestrian Safety

• Vision Zero and Chicago: Aiming High

• Public Health Concerns Increasingly Support Encouraging Walking