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New analysis says road work have promising security impacts

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Aerial view of a large painting in an intersection.

Intersection portray at NE Holman and seventh.
(Photograph: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

“Asphalt artwork had a robust optimistic correlation with improved security advantages.”
— Bloomberg Philanthropies

Portlanders have been creating large-scale murals on streets and intersections for the reason that mid Nineteen Nineties. Right now now we have almost 100 road work citywide and the pattern is simply getting stronger as paint finds its method instantly into traffic-calming tasks and leaders push for extra creatively embellished plazas and carfree streets.

For years, the official stance from the Portland Bureau of Transportation has been that intersection work don’t have any site visitors security impacts and are merely a software to construct neighborhood and convey individuals collectively round a shared neighborhood id.

However new analysis funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies via their Asphalt Artwork Initiative may warrant a shift within the metropolis’s narrative.

The Bloomberg report (PDF) targeted on 17 asphalt artwork websites throughout America. Researchers in contrast before-and-after knowledge of crash charges and did video evaluation of road consumer behaviors. “Asphalt artwork had a robust optimistic correlation with improved security advantages throughout aggregated and most particular person research websites,” researchers wrote within the research. “Highway consumer conduct clearly improved throughout the noticed research websites within the after evaluation intervals.”

Particularly, they famous a 50% lower within the charge of crashes involving pedestrians or different weak street customers, a 37% lower within the charge of crashes resulting in accidents, and a 17% lower within the complete crash charge. The consumer conduct evaluation yielded comparable outcomes; a 25% lower in pedestrian crossings involving a battle with drivers, a 27% improve in frequency of drivers instantly yielding to pedestrians with the appropriate of method, and a 38% lower in pedestrians crossing in opposition to the stroll sign.

Chart with data titled: "Asphalt art had a strong positive correlation with improved safety benefits

(Supply: Asphalt Artwork Security Examine, Bloomberg Philanthropies)

Be mindful the Bloomberg research included quite a lot of artwork installations. Among the websites had paint solely, some had paint mixed with site visitors calming and different infrastructure parts, some had been intersections, others had been crosswalks. Even so, the outcomes warrant consideration.

Examine these findings with PBOT messaging about road work. On their web site, they write: “The largest misperception about road work is that they have an effect on site visitors, both making it higher or worse. We’ve no knowledge to assist any modifications to site visitors quantity or security on account of road work.” And in a 2019 interview with Portland-based Fats Pencil Studio, they stated, “We don’t see any modifications in pace, variety of motor autos, compliance with site visitors management like cease indicators and crosswalks, nor crash exercise. They’ve a impartial affect on site visitors, however are an effective way to construct neighborhood.”

Requested for a response to the research, PBOT spokesman Dylan Rivera stated town wish to know extra about whether or not Bloomberg’s outcomes had been a perform of the paint alone, or if different associated variables (like new site visitors calming measures) performed a task. “This research doesn’t distinguish between whether or not a security enchancment resulted from vertical parts like plastic wands, or site visitors sign modifications, or the paint itself,” Rivera stated. (Of the 17 websites studied, 9 of them had solely paint and no different modifications to the roadway design. And all of these had vital reductions in crashes and yielding behaviors.)

Rivera was not prepared to completely undertake the concept that paint — by itself — has a security profit. “We do, nevertheless, assume that geometric modifications like curb extensions and intersection realignments affect security whether or not they’re fabricated from concrete or paint-and-post purposes,” he stated.

The research authors share Rivera’s cautious optimism. They are saying this preliminary research warrants much more analysis to seek out out which factor of those tasks contribute most to security enhancements.

The elephant within the room with this challenge is that Federal Freeway Administration’s Handbook on Uniform Visitors Management Units (MUTCD) — the information that site visitors engineers comply with out of authorized {and professional} obligation — has been wishy-washy in terms of road work. It’s not technically prohibited, however memos that handle the problem have additionally not given cities a full inexperienced mild to get out the brushes. That’s one in every of Bloomberg’s targets with this research. They hope it helps persuade the FHWA to, “take away this ambiguity with one other such interpretation memo citing the outcomes of this research and clarifying that using shade in crosswalks and using art work on roadways is in truth permitted below the 2009 MUTCD.”

— Take a look at the Asphalt Artwork Security Examine right here.