NYMTC Regional Pedestrian Safety Study - New York Metropolitan ...

On the other hand, there are cases where the stop should be placed nearside. If passengers are
better served by a nearside stop because that is where their ultimate destination is, then the stop
should be placed nearside. Another reason for nearside stops is an intersection that is prone to
being blocked by several buses queuing at a transfer point. Additionally, if a bus route takes a
right turn at an intersection, a farside stop is not possible.
Transit stops where transfers between modes occur also need to consider the natural pedestrian
path from the exit of one mode to the waiting point for the second mode.
Agencies should coordinate with transit providers to ensure stops are placed correctly for a
variety of reasons; pedestrian safety is one of those concerns.
Figure 5.22 Bus Stops below Subway Tracks without and with Raised Median
5.2.7 Conclusions of Engineering Measures
The engineering measures described above will be effective to the extent that they fit the
situations where they are implemented. The goal of the measures is to increase pedestrian safety,
usually by achieving one or more of the objectives of reducing vehicular speed, increasing
visibility of pedestrians (to drivers) and vehicles (to pedestrians), and reducing pedestrian
exposure. If an engineering measure reduces crashes or serious injuries and fatalities by a few
percent, the measure is usually considered to be successful. However, some measures have been
shown to achieve much larger reductions and therefore should be given first consideration. The
following crash reduction factors were noted at the recent FHWA workshops, “Designing Streets
for Pedestrian Safety,” hosted by NYMTC (September 25-26 and 27-28, 2006); they are listed in
Table 5.5 in order of effectiveness. It should be noted that these measures may have an even
greater impact in reducing the number of conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians.
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