Reduction of Pedestrian Fatalities, Injuries, Conflicts, and Other Surrogate Measures in Miami–Dade, Florida

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate measures to reduce pedestrian deaths and injuries along high-crash corridors in Miami–Dade County, Florida, by targeting engineering countermeasures toward specific high-crash locations and zones. With pedestrian crash data from 1996 to 2006, eight corridors were identified within the county as having abnormally high numbers of pedestrian crashes. On the basis of crash characteristics, 14 different engineering treatments were implemented to reduce pedestrian crashes along the specific corridors. A before-and-after study was used to compare the sequential implementation of a 3-year large-scale NHTSA project that focused primarily on education and enforcement components followed by a large-scale FHWA engineering countermeasure project that was added to the NHTSA project along specific corridors. Results showed that the NHTSA pedestrian safety project reduced countywide pedestrian crash rates by 13.3% along the targeted corridors, and the FHWA engineering safety project produced a further reduction to 49.5% of the baseline level. These results translate to 50 fewer pedestrian crashes annually along the treated corridors.