development of arlington county’s marked crosswalk...

April 13, 2015

Development of Arlington County’s Marked Crosswalk Guidelines

Jon Lawler, P.E.

Design Engineer

Arlington County, VA

Transportation System Users

• Residents – Estimated 215,000 in 2014

– Lowest resident drive alone commute rate in Virginia

– 46% of residents use non single occupancy vehicle as primary commute mode

• Employees – Over 220,000 jobs in 2014

– 200,000+ jobs clustered around transit in Arlington’s high-density corridors.

– 160,000+ workers commute into Arlington daily

• Visitors – 4 million plus visitors to Arlington National

Cemetery

– Over 11,000 hotel rooms used as a base for visitors from outside the region

– Many daily visitors from adjacent jurisdictions

• Through travelers & commuters

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Providing Travel Options

• 1,094 lane-miles of streets and 19 miles of HOV lanes

• Over 5,300 on-street metered parking spaces

• 12 miles of Metrorail and 11 stations

• VRE commuter rail

• Extensive regional and local bus service

• Car-share program with over 80 cars

• Bikeshare program with 69 stations

• 50 miles of multi-use trails and 36 miles of on-street bike lanes and sharrows

• Extensive and growing network of sidewalks

Investing to enhance the quality of all travel options.

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Street Segment Street Type 1996 2011/2012 % Change 1996-2012

Lee Hwy - Rosslyn EW 6-lane arterial 37,770 31,951 -15.4%

Wash. Blvd. - VA Square EW 4-lane arterial 20,469 17,500 -14.5%

Clarendon Blvd. EW 2-lane 1-way arterial 13,980 13,292 -5.0%

Wilson Blvd. - Clarendon EW 2-lane 1-way arterial 16,368 12,603 -23.0%

Arlington Blvd. EW 6-lane arterial 55,865 65,259 16.8%

Glebe Road - Ballston NS 6-lane arterial 35,230 31,000 -12.0%

Glebe Road - South of Columbia Pike

NS 4-lane arterial 29,000 27,000 -6.0%

George Mason Drive NS 4-lane arterial 20,002 20,518 2.3%

Jefferson Davis Hwy north of Glebe Road

NS 6-lane arterial 52,000 44,000 -15.4%

Smart growth has allowed Arlington to add population while decreasing traffic volumes. Traffic on main arterials is down over 15-year period.

Traffic Trends

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Arlington is focused on the development of high-quality transit – moving more people without more traffic. Transit ridership grew significantly over 15-year period.

Transit Ridership Trends

FY1996 Actual FY2013 Actual % Growth

Metrorail Arlington Stations 45,335,000 59,528,744 31.3%

Metrobus Arlington Routes 12,049,000 14,848,036 23.2%

VRE – Crystal City 567,000 1,102,076 94.4%

Arlington Transit (ART) 105,000 2,644,000 2,518%

Total Annual Ridership 58,076,000 78,122,856 34.5%

40% of Virginia’s total annual transit ridership is from Arlington-related trips.

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Population Growth Trends

Of the County’s major transit corridors, the most significant population growth through 2040 will occur along Columbia Pike.

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Arlington County Background

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VA State Code – Crosswalk Definition

• Means that part of a roadway at an intersection included within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs or, in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the traversable roadway; or any portion of a roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other markings on the surface.

• Crosswalks exist whenever sidewalks extend across a street at an intersection

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Existing County Guidance

• Lacked standards or guidelines

• Only dictated how crosswalks should be marked

• Primary purpose of a marked crosswalk is to identify the preferred path for pedestrian and bicyclists to cross the road where there may be potential conflict.

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2003 MUTCD Guidance

• Mark at all intersections where there is substantial conflict between vehicular and pedestrian movements

• Section 3B.18: crosswalk lines should not be used indiscriminately

• Perform engineering study at uncontrolled locations

• Install warning signage at mid-block crossings

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Current MUTCD Guidance

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Current MUTCD Guidance

• Crosswalk lines should not be used indiscriminately

• Uncontrolled locations:

• Perform engineering study – # of lanes

– Median presence

– Distance from adjacent signalized intersections

– Pedestrian crossing volumes & delays

– ADT

– Speed

– Geometry

– Potential for consolidating multiple crossing points

– Street lighting

• Do NOT mark crosswalk when speed limit exceeds 40 mph AND: – 4+ lanes w/o raised median and ADT > 12,000 vpd

– 4+ lanes w/ raised median and ADT > 15,000 vpd

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Current NACTO Guidance

• Design criteria – ADT > 3,000 vpd

– Speed > 20 mph

– # of lanes > 2

• Frequent crossings reinforce walkability

• Designers should be sensitive to the misperception that a crosswalk is the only legal place to cross the street

• Mark all crosswalks at signalized intersections 13

FHWA Crosswalk Safety Guidance

• Ped crash rate was much higher at marked crosswalks than at unmarked crosswalks when:

– ADT > 15,000 vpd

– ADT > 12,000 vpd on multilane facilities w/o raised median

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C = Candidate sites for marked crosswalks P = Possible increase in pedestrian crash risk may occur if crosswalks are added without other pedestrian facility enhancements N = Marked crosswalks alone are insufficient, since pedestrian crash risk may be increased by providing marked crosswalks alone

Guidelines from Comparable Agencies

• Washington DC (DDOT)

• San Francisco (SFMTA)

• Seattle (SDOT)

• Boulder (City of Boulder, CO)

• Commonwealth of Virginia (VDOT)

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Common Design Criteria

• Minimum vehicle volume

• Minimum pedestrian crossing volume

• Minimum distance to nearest crosswalk

• Crosswalk visibility

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Minimum Vehicle Volume

• 1,500 vpd threshold – Unless school crossing

• < 1,500 vpd are considered low-volume streets

• DDOT & Boulder use 1,500 vpd threshold

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Minimum Pedestrian Crossing Volume

• 20 peds/hour

• 45 peds crossing over any 3 hours

• Adjacent land use type

• 40 peds/hour at mid-block crossings

• No differentiation in pedestrians’ ages

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Minimum Distance to Nearest Xwalk

• 300’ minimum spacing requirement to nearest controlled crosswalk

• 200’ for crossings located within a Metro Station Area

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Minimum Spacing

Agency

300’ DDOT

300’ SFMTA

200’ SDOT

300’ (200’ in urban areas)

City of Boulder

300’ VDOT

Metro Station Areas

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Metro Station Areas

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Sight Distance

• 8 x speed limit

• DDOT & Boulder → 8 x speed limit

• VDOT → 10 x speed limit

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Design Speed (mph)

AASHTO Design SSD Multiplier

25 6.20

30 6.67

35 7.14

40 7.63

45 8.00

Nighttime Visibility

• Lighting requirement is 2X requirement for the roadway

• SFMTA explicitly requires street lighting adjacent to crosswalk

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Arlington Marked Crosswalk Matrix

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Identify candidatecrossing location

Crossing is at a stop controlled or uncontrolled location

Crossing is at a signal controlled location

Install marked crosswalk

ADT > 1,500

Crossing locationis midblock

Crossing is atan intersection

NO YES

Insufficient need to justify a marked crosswalk

unless it is a minor-street approach crossing at an

unsignalized intersection along a busy arterial, it is intended to be a school

crossing, or it is necessary to direct pedestrians

along the proper crossing path. See Table 1.

20 peds crossing during any hour(a)

Multi-use trail crossing

NO

Insufficient need to justify a marked

crosswalk

YES

NOYES

40 peds crossing during any hour

Crossing is located along

frontage of ped generator(b)

(a) Minimum Pedestrian Volume Thresholds -20 peds crossing during any hour -45 peds crossing during any 3 hours

(b) Pedestrian Generators -School, hospital, park, library, senior center, shopping center, or office building (3+ stories)

(c) Distance to Nearest Controlled Crosswalk -300' or further throughout most of the County -A spacing reduction to 200' is applicable based on engineering judgment if location is situated within a ‘Metro Station Area’ (see Appendix)

NONO

Nearest controlled

crosswalk located 300' or further

away(c)

YES

YES


NO

NO YES

Adequate stopping sight distance (8 xspeed limit)

NO YESGo to Table 1

YES

YES

Remove visual obstruction

Unsafe location for crosswalk; consider alternate location

NOTFEASIBLE

NO

Streetlighting adjacent

to crosswalk

Provide street lighting (crosswalk lighting req. is 2X req. for the road)

NOTFEASIBLE

Go to Table 1

YES

YES NO

YES


crosswalk





ADT > 1,500



NO YES








NO


crosswalk

YES

NOYES







NONO

Nearest controlled


away(c)

YES

YES


NO

NO YES


NO YESGo to Table 1

YES

YES



NOTFEASIBLE

NO


to crosswalk


NOTFEASIBLE

Go to Table 1

YES

YES NO

YES


crosswalk





ADT > 1,500



NO YES








NO


crosswalk

YES

NOYES







NONO

Nearest controlled


away(c)

YES

YES


NO

NO YES


NO YESGo to Table 1

YES

YES



NOTFEASIBLE

NO


to crosswalk


NOTFEASIBLE

Go to Table 1

YES

YES NO

YES


crosswalk


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ADT > 1,500



NO YES








NO


crosswalk

YES

NOYES







NONO

Nearest controlled


away(c)

YES

YES


NO

NO YES


NO YESGo to Table 1

YES

YES



NOTFEASIBLE

NO


to crosswalk


NOTFEASIBLE

Go to Table 1

YES

YES NO

YES


crosswalk





ADT > 1,500



NO YES








NO


crosswalk

YES

NOYES







NONO

Nearest controlled


away(c)

YES

YES


NO

NO YES


NO YESGo to Table 1

YES

YES



NOTFEASIBLE

NO


to crosswalk


NOTFEASIBLE

Go to Table 1

YES

YES NO

YES


crosswalk


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ADT > 1,500



NO YES








NO


crosswalk

YES

NOYES







NONO

Nearest controlled


away(c)

YES

YES


NO

NO YES


NO YESGo to Table 1

YES

YES



NOTFEASIBLE

NO


to crosswalk


NOTFEASIBLE

Go to Table 1

YES

YES NO

YES


crosswalk





ADT > 1,500



NO YES








NO


crosswalk

YES

NOYES







NONO

Nearest controlled


away(c)

YES

YES


NO

NO YES


NO YESGo to Table 1

YES

YES



NOTFEASIBLE

NO


to crosswalk


NOTFEASIBLE

Go to Table 1

YES

YES NO

YES


crosswalk

Arlington Crosswalk Treatments

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Crosswalk Warning Signage

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Questions

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Contact Information

Jon Lawler, P.E.

Arlington County Government

2100 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 900

Arlington, VA 22201

703-228-3724

[email protected]

Washington DC (DDOT)

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San Francisco (SFMTA)

33

San Francisco (SFMTA)

34

City of Seattle

35

City of Boulder

36

City of Boulder

37

Virginia (VDOT)

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