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Subcommittee Activities

Strategies for 2008

• Revise existing and develop additional Pedestrian RNS to have a greater focus on usable products of the research.
• Promote the Pedestrian RNS to a broader pool of potential funding organizations, including private sector companies and non-profit organizations.
• Keep a more updated database of upcoming, ongoing, and recently-completed pedestrian research.
• Seek input on pedestrian research needs from international organizations.
• Collaborate with other TRB committees on RNS.

Pedestrian Research Need Statement Database

The Research Need Statement Database Group is looking for volunteers to take the lead in promoting pedestrian RNS and tracking ongoing pedestrian research in four specific topic areas: 1) Planning and Policy; 2) Design, Operations, and Safety Analysis; 3) Human Capacity and Sensitivity to Environment, and 4) Social/Behavioral Programs.

You can download an Excel file of the existing Pedestrian Research Problem Statement Database at the Research Subcommittee Resources page.

If you are interested in tracking ongoing research, please contact Laura Sandt at sandt@hsrc.unc.edu.

Activities in 2007

• Developed New Research Needs Statements.
  • "Increasing the Safety of Interactions between Pedestrians and Large Commercial Vehicles in Urban Areas" (written by Jeannette Montufar, and comments provided by David Guth, Srinivas Pulugurtha, Shawn Turner, Ron Van Houten, and Bob Schneider).
  • "Development of a Methodology to Evaluate the Impacts of Constructing Missing Sidewalks" (written by Ilona Kastenhofer, and comments provided by Bob Schneider).
  • "Improving Transit and Transportation Agency Coordination to Increase the Safety of Mid-Block Pedestrian Crossings Near Transit Stops" (written by Stephanie McVey, and comments provided by Shawn Turner, Ron Van Houten, and Bob Schneider).
  • "Integrating Pedestrian Delay and Safety Needs into Traffic Signal Design" (written by Sagar Sonar) (Draft).
  • "Incorporating Sustainable Transportation into the Development Assessment Process: Creating Methods to Estimate Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Transit Modes in Trip Generation Models" (written by Bob Schneider) (Draft).
• Took Actions to Promote RNS for Funding and Implementation.
  • Submitted RNS to AASHTO Committee on Non-Motorized Transportation in early May.
  • Worked with Traffic Signal Systems Committee to help revise a Research Needs Statement that the Illinois Department of Transportation put forward for AASHTO research funding.
  • Monitored progress on pooled-fund study of Safe Routes to School programs for opportunities to provide input (Florida, Texas, California, and Washington State).
  • Uploaded RNS from the 2005 Pedestrian Research Needs Circular and the RNS developed in 2005, 2006, and 2007 into the TRB Research Needs Statements Database.
• Modified the Pedestrians Research Needs Statement Database. Research Database Group (Ilona, Laura, Stephanie, Mary Ellen, David L.) met several times to consider and finalize the changes to the Research Needs Statement Database.
• Held three Research Subcommittee conference calls (February, July, and December).
• Reported on Research Subcommittee activities at the Mid-Year full Pedestrian Committee conference call.

Subcommittee History (2001-2007)

The full TRB Pedestrian Committee began an effort to update its list of pedestrian research topics in 2001. The Committee made a broad request for pedestrian research topics from a wide audience of researchers, advocates, and practitioners. These topics were prioritized by the Research Subcommittee to determine a final top 15 list. Each of the top 15 research topics were developed into full research problem statements, which included a statement of the problem, review of existing literature, list of intended audiences, and estimated cost. Members of the subcommittee also chose to add a 16th Research Problem Statement on the Segway Human Intermodal Transporter (SHT). These RPS became the central component of Transportation Research Circular E-C084: Pedestrians: Research Problem Statements, published in December 2005.

During 2005, 2006, and 2007, the Research Subcommittee has developed eight new RNS. These additional RNS have been shared with the full committee and have been (or will soon be) posted in the online TRB RNS database. The Subcommittee also defined its role more clearly in 2006, specifying the three main purposes of the group listed above. It continues to work on these three tasks.