Long-Term Effects of Gateway R1-6 Treatment on Yielding to Pedestrians, Vehicle Speed, and Sign Survival

Project summary:

Prior research has demonstrated that a "gateway" configuration of R1-6, in-street signs placed on each side of the road, on the lane lines, and on the centerline produced a marked increase in the percentage of motorists yielding right-of-way to pedestrians on uncontrolled crosswalks on multi-lane roads. The increases produced by this gateway in-street sign treatment produced yielding levels similar to the rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB) and the pedestrian hybrid beacon (PHB) at a small fraction of the cost. Subsequent work showed that the gateway treatment was nearly as effective when the edge signs were placed on top of the curb (under Federal Highway Administration permission to experiment) and a robust delineator replaced the vulnerable signs placed on the white lane lines. This placement strategy has the potential to reduce the required maintenance resulting from damaged signs. Pilot data also showed that the gateway treatment produced a 10 mph speed reduction at one crosswalk without an increase in hard braking. Researchers collected data at 13 permanent installations of the gateway in-street sign treatment with three additional sites to be installed this month. Researchers collected baseline yielding and speed data at all sites. This includes Ann Arbor sites, SW Michigan sites, and three new sites in the city of Grand Rapids. Researchers also collected May treatment yielding and speed data at all treated sites, and June treatment yielding data at all sites. Installation and data collection is on target. So far yielding data are sustained and the researchers are learning more about sign survival. They also have a large average speed reduction of 5 mph at the crosswalk when pedestrians are not present. This is a very significant speed reduction that has major safety implications for pedestrians. Data on sign survival favor the use of curb-type mounting basis and flexible delineators. The results of this research should have a high level of applied value and be practice-ready.

• OST-R summary report for this project (PDF)