Using Zones

Once the zones are defined, they must be examined to determine how they can be used. The problems and resources of each zone need to be identified. Activities to counter the problems need to be selected or developed. The practicality of implementing each countermeasure in the zones needs to be determined. Finally, program activities must be implemented and monitored.

Step 5. Evaluate zones and identify resources

The first step here is to review each zone to assess the pedestrian safety problems that exist and the resources that are available to help solve the problem of interest. The effort should start with a review of the police report for each zone crash to determine the nature of the crash and any factors that might have caused it. A drive- or walk-through should then be made of each zone to identify areas where engineering improvements can provide pedestrian safety benefits and to identify resources that can be used for public education. A video of the drive-/walk-through can be an invaluable aid in documenting problem areas and available resources.

Use of a checklist during the walk-through is also recommended. The field checklist should capture information in the following four main areas:

• Search limitations --anything that prevents the driver and pedestrian from seeing each other, such as parked cars, tree branches, street furniture, inadequate lighting, etc. The failure of the driver and pedestrian to see each other is by far the largest cause of pedestrian crashes.
  
  
• Potential or observed conflicts --any conflict between vehicles and pedestrians, such as vehicles that are too close to pedestrians when the vehicles are making right or left turns. Such conflicts can be good predictors of pedestrian safety problems.
  
  
• Negative behavioral indicators --errors made by either the driver or pedestrian, such as the pedestrian entering the street without searching or the driver proceeding without searching. These negative behaviors can indicate unsafe conditions for pedestrians.
  
  
• High risk factors --existing factors that can affect the safety of the pedestrian in the roadway, such as high vehicle speeds or signals that provide inadequate time for the pedestrian to cross the street. These factors can increase the likelihood that a crash will occur.

A summary of all these observations will help provide the basis for selecting or developing program activities for each zone.

While conducting the on-site analysis, observations and discussions with people in the defined zones will also provide answers to questions such as the following:

• Does the target population reside there, work there, visit there? Are there many members of the target population visible in the zones? What do census data say?
  
  
• Are there existing resources in the zones that can be used to reach the target population, such as:

  Businesses

  Senior centers/youth organizations

  Clubs/sports leagues

  Medical facilities

  Homeowner's associations

  Libraries

  Churches/synagogues

  Schools

  Billboards

  Stores

  Police/fire stations

• Are there any obvious factors that are causing the problem that may be relatively easy to change? Good countermeasure ideas often arise from an "immersion" in an area that is experiencing a problem.

Step 6. Select program activities

A consideration of each program activity and how it will be applied should accompany zoning plans. Some activities aren't helped by the zone process. For example, television or radio public service announcements (PSAs) cannot typically be targeted to specific areas (unless a zone were to encompass an entire television or radio market). If used, therefore, PSAs would serve as supporting not primary activities for in-zone pedestrian program activities.

Basically, activities that can be applied in defined, small areas are best suited for zoning. As examples, these include:

• Most types of engineering improvements such as new signs or signals, signal timing changes, cleaning up visual clutter, installing parking setbacks, installing/refreshing crosswalks, improving roadway lighting, etc. Traffic calming techniques are also particularly well suited for application in zones that have a defined need for slower vehicle speeds.
  
  
• Direct distribution of materials (posters, flyers, etc.) to homes, businesses, libraries, homeowner's associations, senior centers, clubs, medical offices, etc. This type of distribution has been shown to be very effective, but it is also costly if the area to be covered is large. By zoning the problem and distributing materials only to the zones, a limited media budget can be made far more effective. Since linear zones by definition include only a segment of one roadway, a few parallel roads (within one-quarter to one-half mile) can be added to each side of a linear zone to provide an area for distribution of education materials.
  
  
• Presentations (with or without videos) and training programs to a target population. If a target population congregates in zones, in-person presentations can be used in a cost effective manner.
  
  
• Enforcement activities targeted to specific problems in the zones, for example, targeted enforcement of vehicle speeds.

Step 7. Implement program activities

Once pedestrian safety zones have been defined and countermeasures chosen, the selected program activities must be implemented. In general, the same techniques and level of care used in citywide implementations must be applied when focusing efforts in zones. In addition, zoned countermeasures often involve door-to-door and on-street activities rather than distribution by mail. They also typically rely quite heavily on the cooperation of people and organizations within the zones for a successful outcome. As such, two special implementation issues often arise with zone applications:

• Ensuring that seasonal weather doesn't interfere with planned activities. For example, extreme summer heat and winter cold/snow may well limit walking trips. Outdoor activities (including any outdoor data collection) will be limited at these times.
  
  
• Ensuring that staff is available in the zones to perform any needed activities. The process of contacting individual agencies and organizations to ensure their willingness to display or distribute public education materials and then actually counting out and distributing the needed materials can be time consuming and very labor intensive.

Step 8. Monitor program activities

Program activities need to be monitored to ensure that they are proceeding on schedule, reaching the intended audience and achieving the intended results. Again, staff is needed to ensure that all activities are being carried out as planned. In addition, a survey within the defined zones can be an invaluable aid in obtaining information on residents' knowledge of the program and its subject matter.

In addition to program activities, the zones themselves need to be monitored periodically since they can be fluid. For example, a zone might contain some land use (such as a trailer park) that, if removed, would remarkably change the characteristics of the zone. Or some element might be added to the zone (such as a school, hospital, restaurant/bar or senior residence) that would affect the zone definition process or how zone activities are carried out. For an ongoing, long-term effort, the basic zone definition itself might change with old zones disappearing or changing and new zones being added.