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Poster Session 6, 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM: Campus Center Auditorium [A17]

Presenter: Kaya Sempruch

Faculty Sponsor: Michael A. Knodler

School: UMass Amherst

Research Area: Civil Engineering

ABSTRACT

Roadway safety for all users is at the forefront of transportation engineering research. Among the highest safety risks are Vulnerable Roadway Users (VRU), which refers to pedestrians, cyclists, and any other roadway user not utilizing a vehicle. A majority of pedestrian crashes occur within the vicinity of bus stops, making these locations critical for safety improvements. Over the past few months, I have analyzed video footage from 20 bus stops across Massachusetts, each with varied infrastructure and differing crash rates. Video scoring consists of studying bus user and non-bus user pedestrian behavior alongside the existing infrastructure. Infrastructure attributes include the type of crossing treatment, presence of a refuge island, and the crossing’s location relative to the bus stop. For each VRU crossing the roadway, demographics such as group size, user type, estimated gender, estimated age, visibility, and presence of a visible distraction are recorded. VRUs are categorized as bus users or non-bus users, and their crossing behavior is documented. Additional data include whether pedestrians use existing crossing treatments, the time they show intent to cross, start and end times of crossing, time spent on refuge islands, crossing pace, vehicle presence, and crossing location relative to present buses. For bus users, waiting time and boarding or alighting behavior are also noted. All scored and validated data will be examined in tandem to determine what attributes might be contributing to pedestrian crashes near bus stops and provide insight on potential opportunities to improve VRU safety.