Pedestrian Signal Safety - AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

BACKGROUND
Broward County is located along the eastern coast of Florida and is home to many popular vacation
destinations. Both Broward County (16.1 percent) and the state of Florida (17.6 percent) have a
higher percentage of residents age 65 and older than the United States (12.4 percent). In fact, the
percentage of residents age 85 and older in Broward county (2.7 percent) is almost double that of the
United States (1.5 percent), as shown in Table C-1.
Table C-1. Broward County, Florida population distribution by age.
Age
Broward County Florida United States
Population
Percent
of total
Population
Percent
of total
Population
Percent
of total
Under 18 382,929 23.6 3,646,340 22.8 72,293,812 25.7
18–34 348,245 21.5 3,414,702 21.4 67,035,178 23.8
35–54 493,633 30.4 4,554,726 28.5 82,826,479 29.4
55–64 137,102 8.4 1,559,013 9.8 24,274,684 8.6
65–84 218,058 13.4 2,476,310 15.5 30,752,166 10.9
85 and
older
43,051 2.7 331,287 2.1 4,239,587 1.5
Total 1,623,018 100 15,982,378 100 281,421,906 100
SITE SELECTION
Broward County maintains approximately 1,300 signalized intersections, of which 1,200 have
pedestrian signals. The Florida Department of Transportation also uses pedestrian countdown (PCD)
signals. Broward County began using PCD signals in January 2004. At the time of the study, PCD
signals were installed at five county intersections. Broward County installed the PCD signals at
intersections with heavy pedestrian traffic. The signals were compliant with the Manual on Uniform
Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and displayed the countdown during the flashing DON’T WALK
(FDW) interval.
Walking speed was used as part of the calculation to determine the pedestrian signal intervals,
varying between 3.50 and 4.00 feet/second (ft./sec.), depending on the presence of schools, older
populations, tourist volumes, and level of pedestrian activity. The county concentrated its placement
of PCD signals at high-volume/high-pedestrian intersections in tourist areas near the beach. There
were no formal criteria for defining high-volume crossing distances; county engineers used their
judgment regarding which intersections should be equipped with countdown signals.
Jon Kleinedler from the Broward County Traffic Engineering Division recommended 20 intersections
for the study, including the intersections equipped with PCD signals and traditional pedestrian signals
(TPS). Kleinedler selected intersections that had high pedestrian volumes and were in the immediate
vicinity of the PCD signals. The project engineer reviewed these 20 intersections for the following
aspects:
119