Active Transportation Plan - City of Pomona

Pomona Active Transportation Plan
November 2012
Chapter 8 – Bicycle and Pedestrian Design Guidelines
PEDESTRIAN DESIGN GUIDELINES
Walking requires two important features in the built environment: people must walk along streets and
they must get across streets. Crossing a street should be easy, safe, convenient, and comfortable. While
pedestrian behavior and crossing design affect the street crossing experience, motorist behavior (whether
and how motorists yield to pedestrians) is the most significant factor in pedestrian safety.
A number of tools exist to improve pedestrian safety, to make crossing streets easier and walking along
streets more comfortable and inviting. Effective traffic management can address concerns about traffic
speed and volume. A motorist driving more slowly has more time to see, react, and stop for a pedestrian.
The number of pedestrians also influences motorists; in general, motorists are more aware of pedestrians
when more people walk.
Providing marked crosswalks is only one of the many possible engineering measures. According to
Charles Zegeer of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC), when considering how to provide
safer crossings for pedestrians, the question should not be: “Should I provide a marked crosswalk”
Instead, the question should be: “What are the most effective measures that can be used to help
pedestrians safely cross the street” Deciding whether to mark or not mark crosswalks is only one
consideration in creating safe and convenient pedestrian crossings.
In addition, providing adequate sidewalk width and amenities can increase pedestrian comfort and safety.
Land uses play an important part in sidewalk design, and dictate appropriate widths for each zone in the
pedestrian way.
This section describes the majority of measures available to improve pedestrian crossings and sidewalks,
including marked crosswalks, raised crossing islands and medians, lighting, sidewalk design, and
streetscape enhancements. The measures are arranged in alphabetical order for crossings first, then for
sidewalks.
The estimated costs in this section are for planning purposes. They will vary greatly depending on the
existing conditions, design specifics of the treatment, and local materials and labor costs.
Note: The final design of the improvements at specific locations must be left to the professional
engineer who will be responsible for the design and who will be charged with exercising good
engineering judgment that meets the acceptable standard of care for pedestrian, bicycle, and
vehicular traffic. These recommendations are meant to guide the design process.
Intersection Type Guidance
Every location needs tailored design and engineering judgment. That judgment should follow the
guidelines described in each of the following device sheets, as well as other guidance from the California
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and other documents. We can, however, identify the
treatments commonly used at different types of intersections. They are as listed below.
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