Pedestrian Signal Safety - AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

138
Table D-1. Population distribution by age for Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.
Age
Under
18
Minneapolis St. Paul Minnesota United Stat es
Population
Percent
of total
Population
Percent of
total
Population
Percent
of total
Population
Percent
of total
84,169 22.0 77,827 27.1 1,286,894 26.2 72,293,812 25.7
18–34 134,066 35.0 84,155 29.3 1,143,572 23.2 67,035,178 23.8
35–54 106,865 27.9 77,827 27.1 1,489,878 30.3 82,826,479 29.4
55–64 22,640 5.9 17,695 6.2 404,869 8.2 24,274,684 8.6
65-84 28,504 7.4 24,472 8.5 508,665 10.3 30,752,166 10.9
85 and
older
6,374 1.7 5,175 1.8 85,601 1.7 4,239,587 1.5
Total 382,618 100 287,151 100 4,919,479 100 281,421,906 100
SITE SELECTION
Minneapolis initially was selected for the study. Minneapolis recently started using pedestrian
countdown (PCD) signals. At the time of the data collection, the city had PCD signals at three
intersections. One of the intersections was in a residential and commercial neighborhood. The other
two intersections were located near a light rail station. The city traffic engineer recommended not
using the two intersections near the light rail station because the intersection design, trip purposes,
and pedestrian activity at these intersections were unusual. The local AAA representatives agreed
with this recommendation. However, this left only one PCD signal for the study. Additionally, the
remaining intersection was equipped with PCD signals across only one approach.
The project engineer contacted the City of St. Paul to seek its involvement in the study. The City of St.
Paul agreed to participate. One intersection equipped with a countdown signal and one intersection
equipped with a traditional signal was selected in each city. In the selection of study intersections, the
project engineer considered the following aspects:
• Pedestrian volumes, particularly older pedestrian volumes;
• Lack of any construction or other temporary impediments (such as street closures) that may
affect pedestrian behavior;
• Ability to sufficiently collect data (such as utility poles located close to the intersection);
• Conventional intersection design; and
• Surrounding land use.
Based on field observations, discussions with the engineering staff, and the recommendations of the
AAA representative, two intersections in Minneapolis and two intersections in St. Paul were selected
for this study. In Minneapolis: