Study of School Zones with Traffic Signals

摘要

One of the most pressing and controversial problems faced by parents, school administrators, law enforcement and transportation professionals throughout the country is the safety of children on their way to and from school. To proactively address this issue, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) initiated this study to investigate the effectiveness of reduced speed school zones at marked crossing locations served by a traffic signal on a state highway, and whether the effectiveness is dependent on the grade level of students served, or other factors. The study team conducted research tasks including a comprehensive literature review, an on-line survey and phone interviews of safety professionals, field reviews at 14 school sites, data collection, and data analysis. The findings of this study emphasized the value of crossing guards and reduced speed zones in enhancing the safety of school crossings. The study team also observed that a reduced speed zone may encourage high school students to risk jaywalking by providing a lower speed environment. However, the speed and safety data analysis found no direct correlation between lower pedestrian/bicycle crash rates and reduced speed zones or pedestrian/bicycle volumes. The study team recommended treatments that may improve safety at school crossings including: no right-turn on red, pedestrian lead phase, and all red pedestrian phase.