Properly Evaluating Existing and Proposed Crosswalk Improvements 

Purpose:
Review criteria for crosswalk locations and what level of treatment should be recommended.

Background:
Many factors go into the installation of a crosswalk, with a request from residents, normally in the form of a petition, being the first step.  The next step would be for staff to gather information on the location to see if and what kind of crosswalk would best suit the situation. Staff would gather information on traffic counts, speed, stopping sight distances for vehicles, number of pedestrians using crosswalk, distance and number of traffic lanes, accident review and LOS (level of service.)

15 minutes

As stated earlier many factors go into determining if a crosswalk is necessary at a given location and if so what type of crosswalk should be used. Vehicle speed is a primary factor for crosswalks at uncontrolled locations. 40 mph is the highest recommended speed. Any speed higher than 40 mph and guidelines suggest you use pedestrian hybrid beacons, pedestrian traffic signals, or grade separated crossings.  The city of Ramsey has several crosswalks located on Alpine Dr where the speed limit is 45 mph.  Though not ideal, traffic volume is low for the most part, allowing large gaps in traffic for people to cross.

Another factor is visibility for both pedestrians and motorists. Is there adequate distance for the motorist to see a pedestrian entering the crosswalk and make the decision to stop?  At 40 mph it takes the driver 59 ft in reaction time to make the decision to stop  and 139 ft overall to stop the vehicle before entering the crosswalk.

Traffic volume is also a factor.  Most of our crosswalks are located on low volume two lane residential roads, so for us, traffic volume is not as great of concern as visibility.  Level of Service or LOS is the time frame that someone is willing to wait to cross the road safely.  Normally we don't expect to see any LOS ratings above a C rating on our residential streets, but the county roads and state highways will experience higher LOS ratings.

LOS	Control Delay (Seconds)	Comments
A	0-5 sec	Usually no conflicting traffic
B	5-10 sec	Occasionally some delay due to traffic
C	10-20 sec	Delay noticeable but not inconveniencing
D	20-30 sec	Delay noticeable and irritating, increased chance of risk taking
E	30-45 sec	Delay approaches tolerance level, risk taking behavior likely
F	Above 45 sec	Delay exceeds tolerance level, high likelihood of pedestrian risk-taking.

As far as maintaining crosswalks, staff attempts to review paint every 2-3 years and repaints in the spring when necessary.

Costs for the various types of crosswalks we have in the city vary greatly. A simple crosswalk with advance signs, the actual crossing signs, striping costs and ped ramps can cost  approximately $8,050.   For a crosswalk with Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) the cost is approximately $48,000 with ped ramps and striping.

There was also a concern with speeds on Dysprosium St between Bunker Lake Blvd and NowThen Blvd.  The speed limit on the that section of road is 30 mph. Staff placed a radar trailer on Dysprosium St and recorded speeds from Monday 11/8-Wednesday 11/10.  The sign was placed in stealth mode , so no speeds were visibly posted for drivers to react to. The sign recorded 3416 cars with the average speed being 30 mph and the 85% speed being 34 mph.  The 85% speed means that of the 3416 cars that traveled past the sign, 85% were driving at 34 mph or less.

N/A

Informational Only

Based on committee discussion