JaywalkingReduction

FeasibilityReport

By:DonaldStanleyIII,JeremyPhifer,RichardFoley
ReportPeriod:3/31/20164/28/2016

TableofContents

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.

ExecutiveSummary
Introduction
Criteria
Methods
OverviewofAlternatives
EvaluationofAlternatives
Recommendations
AppendixA
AppendixB
Sources

ExecutiveSummary
ThejaywalkingproblemattheintersectionsofSpring/PattersonandPatterson/73can
causetrafficbackup,adangertothepedestrianswhoarejaywalking,andcanbeabad
impressionwhenvisitorscometoviewthecampus.Theobjectandgoalofthisreportis
toevaluateseveralsolutionstothejaywalkingproblem,whiletakingintoconsideration
thecost,timeframe,safety,andhoweasyitistoimplement.Theintersectionsof
Spring/PattersonandPatterson/73arethemainentrancewayintothecampusofMiami
University,thetrafficflowthroughtheseintersectionsarealwaysbusyalongwith
studenttrafficthroughthisarea.Duetothelongperiodofwaittimeforthewalksignal,
manypeoplejaywalkinsteadofwaitingwhichcancausethetraffictobebackedup,
studentsbeingputintodanger,andapoorviewoftheschool.Asofrightnow,thereis
norealpunishmentforjaywalking,noristhereanyplanonfixingthisproblem.

Primaryresearchwasconductedthroughastudentsurveyandobservationsofthe
intersectionstodeterminewhatsolutionsandalternativescouldbeusedtoreducethe
amountofjaywalkingthatoccurs.Theresultoftheobservationsshowthatnearlyhalf
ofallpeoplewhocrossthesestreetsdosoillegally,andthatnearlyhalfofthose
jaywalkerscrossduringonespecificpointinthetrafficpatternthatconstituteslessthan
10%ofthetotaltimeofthetrafficpatterns.Thisindicatesthatthebestsolutionmaybe
onethattargetsthispartofthetrafficpatterndirectly.

Thisdiscoverycoupledwiththefactthatsurveyrespondentsfavoredanalternativethat
doesjustthathaveledustoselectingthedevelopmentofanewtrafficpatternforthese
intersections.Thisnewtrafficpatternwillincreasepedestrianandmotorvehicle
efficiencyanddecreasetheamountofjaywalkingthatoccursthere.

Thissolutionalsomeetsallofourcriteriaforanacceptablesolution:affordability,ease
ofimplementation,reversibility,andsafety.Developingandimplementinganewtraffic
patternisaffordablebecausethereisnomonetarycost.Itiseasytoimplement
becauseonlyelectronicsneedtobedigitallyreprogrammednophysicalstructures
needbepurchasedorbuilt,andtheintersectionsdonotneedtosufferanyunnecessary
downtime.Thisalternativeisreversiblebecausethepatternneedonlybereturnedto
itsprevioussettingsifsomethinggoeswrong.Finally,thesolutionisexpectedto
greatlyincreasepedestriansafetybydecreasingjaywalking,anactthatputs
pedestriansindangerofbeingstruckbyamotorvehiclethathastherightofway.

Introduction
Thesolutionsandalternativesproposedinthisreportarenecessarytoreducethe
problemofjaywalkingattheintersectionsofSpring/PattersonandPatterson/73on
MiamiUniversitysOxfordcampus.Theimplementationofoneofthesesolutionswould
improvetrafficflowattheseintersections,increasepedestriansafety,andmakethe
entrancetothecampusmorepleasingforincomingvisitorswhomightotherwisebemet
withafloodofjaywalkersasafirstimpression.

Outofthealternativesthataregoingtobesetforthinthisdocument,werecommenda
changetotheprogrammingofthetrafficlightsattheseintersections.Studentfeedback
andobservationofstudentandvehiclehabitsatthesecrosswalkshaveindicatedthat
changestosignallengthsand/ortrafficandpedestrianlightcyclingorderwouldmakeit
moreconvenientandsafeforpedestrianstocrossthestreet,andmakeiteasierfor
driverstonavigatetheintersectionwithoutdelays.

Criteria
Ourcriteriaforareasonablesolutionarethefollowing:thesolutionmustbeaffordable,
relativelyeasytoimplement,reversible,andsafe.Affordabilityisgaugedbytheamount
ofmoneythatmustbespentbytheuniversityontheimplementationofthesolution.
Easeofimplementationisdeterminedbythedurationoftheperiodofimplementation,
andwhatdowntimetheintersectionswillface,ifany,duetothesolution.Reversible
referstotheabilitytoreturntheintersectiontoitsoriginalstateiftheplanfailstoreduce
jaywalking,makesthejaywalkingworse,orcausesanyotherunforeseennegative
effects.Finally,thesolutionmustincreasepedestrianandmotoristsafety:anynew
designtotheintersectionorchangeintrafficpatternmustnotbeconfusingortimedina
waythatcouldendangeranyoneforthesakeofconvenience.

Methods
Theresearchmethodsusedinthisstudywereasurveytogatherselfreported
perceptionsandhabits,primaryobservationoftheintersectionsinquestionto
determinewhenandhowoftenjaywalkinghappens,andlimitedsecondaryand
historicalresearchofjaywalking.Toexpeditetimeframeofthestudyandconserve
resources,exactcostresearchhasnotbeendone,andnonumericalfigurescanbe
givenforcostordurationofimplementationhowever,eachsolutionhasareasonably
intuitive,qualitativescaleofcostandimplementation.Thatistosay,without
quantitativebackingatthistime,itisreasonablyeasytodetermineataglancethat
certainsolutionswouldcomeatgreatercostanddelaythanotherssimplydueto
requiredmethodologyofimplementation.

Asurveywasextendedtostudentswiththepurposeofcollectingselfreporteddataon
jaywalkinghabitsandperceptions.38studentsrespondedtothesurvey.Theresultsof
thissurveyindicatethatstudentsatMiamiareawareofthisproblem,butvalue
convenienceovercontributingtothesolutionbywaitingandnotjaywalking.Inaddition
tothis,thelimitedpoolofsurveyrespondentsclearlyfavoroneofourproposed
alternativesovertheothers.

Thefirstquestionofthesurveyindicatedthattwooutofthreesurveyrespondentsagree
thatjaywalkingisaproblemattheintersectionsdiscussedinthisreport.
Figure1
showsthatdespiterecognizingtheproblem,Miamistudentsstilljaywalkatthese
intersectionsquitefrequently:

PercentofRespondentsgivingthisanswer
Figure1resultsoffirstsurveyquestion,indicatingselfreportedjaywalkingfrequency
atPatterson/Spring,Patterson/73


Figure2
indicatesthatthemostpreferredsolutionforthisproblemistheimplementation
ofanewtrafficpatternattheseintersections.(Nodataisavailableforthealternativeof
buildingnewcrossinginfrastructure,asthatalternativewasdevelopedafterthecreation
andconductionofthissurvey):

Figure2Respondentpreferencesbasedonaweightedscalesystem(most,
somewhat,less,leastlikely)ofselfreportedexpectedhabitchanges

Observationshavebeenmadetodetermineatwhattimesofdaypedestriantraffic
peaks,aswellaswhenjaywalkingismostprevalent.Thetimingsofthelightshavealso
beenanalyzedsothatanewsystemcanbeproposedbycombiningthesetwosetsof
data.Incombinationwiththeintersectiontimings,pedestriansweretrackedforperiods
oftimetodetermineduringwhichpartsofthecyclejaywalkingwasmostprevalent.

Intotal,fivehoursofobservationsweremade,withatotalof1,690pedestriancrossings
accountedfor.Outofthese,744wereillegal.Notsurprisingly,44%ofallpeoplewho
crossedtheseintersectionsduringourfivehoursofcumulativeobservationdidsoby
jaywalking.Interestingly,nearlyhalfofthesejaywalkerscrossedduringatimeperiod
thatconstituteslessthan10%ofthetotaltimeduringwhichjaywalkingcantechnically
occur.Thishighlightsapointinthetrafficpatternthatcouldbepotentiallyimprovedto
removetheincentiveforjaywalkingormakecrossingthestreetatthistimelegal.

OverviewofAlternatives
Thefirstalternativeistoimplementandenforcepenaltiestostudentsforjaywalking.As
ofnowitisunheardoftoreceiveanypenaltiesforjaywalking,andstudentswill
knowinglyjaywalkwithmiamilawenforcementpresentattheintersection.Tofixthis
problem,morepenaltieswouldbeissued,andthepublicwouldbemadeawareofthese
penalties.Publicknowledgethatpeoplearestartingtoreceivefinesforjaywalking,may
deterstudentsfromjaywalking.Alsonochangeswouldneedtobemadetothe
intersectionitself,sotherewouldbenodowntimeassomeoftheotheralternatives
wouldhave.Studentswouldalsoneedtobeeducatedaboutthedangersofjaywalking
aswellasbeingrespectfultodriverswhoalsoonlyhavealimitedtimetogetthrough
theintersection.

Thesecondalternativeistoconstructnewinfrastructure,suchasapedestrianbridgeor
atunnel.Thiswouldfixtheproblemcompletely,duetoalwayshavingaccesstocross
thestreet.Thiswouldalsofixtheproblemoftrafficbackuponthesestreetsbecause
withouthavingtostoptrafficforstudentsthetrafficcancontinuouslymove.The
crosswalksandwalksignscouldberemoved.Alsoanaddedbenefitofthebridgeor
tunnelisnowthatthereisalwaysconstantaccessincrossingthestreet,studentscould
makeittoclassontime.

Thethirdalternativeistochangethecurrenttrafficpatternsofthetwointersections,
thusincreasingorredistributingthewalktimeforpedestrians.Asofnowthereisonly
onechanceforthepedestrianstowalk,thiscausesalongwaitperiodforstudents
whichcausesthemtojaywalk.Byincreasingthechancesforpeopletowalkorjust
redistributingthewalktime,peoplewouldbemorewillingtowait.Thiswouldalsobea
timetooptimizevehiclesignaltiming,sothatthetrafficisnotbackedupduetoeither
jaywalkingorpoorsignaltimes.Thisalternativeneedsnoconstructionorpurchasesof
anykind,duetojustneedingtochangethetiminginthecomputerizedtrafficcontrol
box.

Thelastalternativeistodonothing,thisisalwaysanoption,andwouldcostnothingnor
wouldittakeanytime.Alsotherewouldbenoconfusionaboutnewtrafficpatternsor
rulesthatwouldbeputintoplacewiththeotheralternatives.Iflateronintimethey
wouldwanttofixthejaywalkingproblemthisalternativeisfullyreversible.

EvaluationofAlternatives
Afterconductingsurveys,theimplementationofthejaywalkingpenaltiesseemedto
havetheleastimpactastheotheralternatives.Inorderforthistobeeffectiveanofficer
wouldhavetobepaidregularlyorovertimedependingonhowthiswassetupandthey
wouldhavetobeconstantlystationedattheseintersections.Sooutofallthe
alternativesthiswouldcostthesecondmost.Alsoinorderforthistobeeffective,
studentswouldneedtoberemindedofthedangersofjaywalkingandwouldneedto
learntobeconsiderateofthedriversontheroad.Thefewupsidesofthisalternativeis
thatthereisnodowntimeanditcouldbeimplementedimmediately.Alsothisisfully
reversible,ifitprovestobeineffectivethentheofficerwouldnolongerbeneededtobe
stationedthere.

Constructinganewinfrastructure,suchasabridgeoratunnel,wouldeliminate
jaywalkingcompletelyduetohavingconstantlegalcrossing,makingitsaferforthe
students.Themajorproblemswiththisalternativeisthefinancialside,thetimeframe,
andthatitisnotreversible.Thisalternativeisthemostexpensiveofalloftheoptions.
Sincetheuniversityhasabudgetforrenovations,anincreaseinstudenttuitionwould
probablybeadded(asitdidwitharmstrong).Abridgeacross73wouldalsoblockthe
viewofShidelerHall,whichtheUniversityrecentlyrenovatedforthepurposeofa
pleasantappearanceforpeopleenteringcampusforthefirsttime.Alsosince
constructionwouldhavetotakeplace,roadclosingsanddetourswouldhavetobe
implemented,andsincePattersonisthemainentranceintoOxfordthiscouldcause
evenmoretrafficbackup.Finallysinceabridgeoratunnelisirreversible,thiscan
causeproblemsifthisalternativedoesnotwork.Theconstructionofthebridgeis
limitedbytherequirementtoallowsemistopassunderneathatthisimportant
intersection.Thiswouldrequirethatthebridgebeapproximately15feettoallow
appropriateclearance.InordertobeADAcompliant,thiswouldrequireahorizontal
lengthof170feet.Spatially,thiswouldbeveryinconvenienttofindproperareaforsuch
alengthyramp.Theoptionforconstructionofatunnelmayhavesimilarproblems,and
wouldrequireadditionalresearchforthefollowingreasonduetothepossibilityof
undergroundutilitiesthatwouldneedtobepreserved.

Therevisedtrafficpatternalternativewasthemostpopularfromthesurveysthatwere
conducted.Thisalternativemeetsallthecriteriathereisnofinancialcosttoimplement
thenewtrafficpatternduetojustneedingtochangethetrafficboxandthetimingof
eachwalksignalandtrafficsignal,thereisnointersectiondowntimedueto
construction,itissaferthantheoriginalplanthatisimplementedrightnowbecause
studentswouldhavemorechancestowalkthusdecreasingtheneedtojaywalk,andit
isfullyreversibleiftherevisedtrafficpatterndoesnotwork.Withthenewtrafficpattern,

theonlyforeseeableproblemisstudentsbeingunfamiliarwiththenewpatternand
steppingoutwhentheythinktheyhavetherightaway.Thiscanbefixedbysendingout
anemail,postingitonMiamiswebsite,placingflyersatthepostsforthese
intersections,andothersourcestoalertstudentsofthenewchanges.

Doingnothingalsomeetsmostofthecriteria,becausethereisnodowntime,nocost,
andisfullyreversible.Theproblemwithdoingnothingthoughisthatthisdoesnot
decreasetheamountofjaywalkingthereforestudentsarestillatrisk.Theonlyupside
isthatitisfullyreversible,somoreresearchcanbedonetocomeupwithbetter
solutionsandcanbefixedthen.

Recommendations
Werecommendtheimplementationofanewtrafficpatterntoincreasetheefficiencyof
theintersectionsanddecreasetheprevalenceofjaywalking.Thissolutionwasselected
becauseitisincrediblycostandtimeeffective:therewillbenomonetarycostin
changingtheprogrammingoftheintersectionsignals,andtherewillbenotimewhere
theintersectionwillneedtobeclosedtochangeanything.Incombinationwiththisand
intheinterestofstudentsafetywealsorecommendanotificationbesenttoMiami
studentsthroughMyMiamiandthegenerallistserv,warningstudentsofthenewtraffic
patternandexplainingwhyitwillbeanimprovementoverthecurrentone.Thiswillaid
inpreventingstudentswhomaybeusedtothecurrentpatternfromcrossingthestreet
atadangeroustime.

Thetrafficpatternwillconsistofwalksignalsforindividualcrosswalksduringthe
durationofthecorrespondingleftturncycle,withafullintersectionwalkcycletooccur
immediatelyafter.Thiswillleadto2fullwalkcyclespertrafficcycleinsteadofthe
currentsingleone,withpartialcyclesmakingitefficient,legal,andsafeforpedestrians
tocrossthestreetduringleftturncyclesjustastheydonowwhentheyjaywalk.Itis
importanttonotethatoneofthiseffectivelymakesthejaywalkingthatstudentsare
doingregardlessbecomealegalaction.Thisremovesacongestionthatoccursduetoa
phenomenoninwhichonestudentcrossesduetonoticingtheleftturnsignalbegin.
Otherstudentswouldthenslowlybegincrossingfollowingthefirstone.Althoughthe
firstindividualcrossedwithoutincidence,thefollowingindividualshavebeennoticedto
incurcongestionastheyarestillcrossingwhenthetrafficsignalchanges.Bychanging
thisintoalegalperiod,allstudentswillbeinstantlynotifiedthatitisasafeperiodto
cross,andwillbeabletraversetheintersectioninlesstotaltime.Theywouldalsobe
givenindicationofhowlongthecycle,andthusthesafeperiodtocross,willlast.To
preventbackupofmotorvehicletrafficduringthistime,thetwofullwalkcycleswillbe
shorterindividuallythanthecurrentwalkcycle.Thiswillbesupplementedbythefact
thatstudentscanlegallycrossduringthecorrespondingleftturnphases.
Theentire
currenttrafficpatternisoutlinedin
AppendixA
,whileourrecommendedchangesare
detailedin
AppendixB

AppendixACurrentTrafficPattern

North>
(thebelowdiagramsareorientedsothatNorthistotheright)

Layoutofintersection.Patterson/Springisontheleft,Patterson/73isontheright.
Crosswalksaredesignatedwithlettersanddrivinglaneswithnumbers.Allarrows
directdirectionoftraffic.

Pattern1Walkcycle,17seconds:Allcrosswalkshaveawalksign,andalllaneshave
redlights.


Pattern2Springcycle,22seconds:Allcrosswalkshaveadontwalksign,Spring
Streetisgreenforbothleftandrightturns,PattersonisgreenforonlyNorthboundtraffic
(4)inordertocreateasteadyflowturningleftfrom2to4.

Pattern373cycle,22seconds:Allcrosswalkshaveadontwalksign,73isgreenfor
bothleftandrightturns(5),PattersonisgreenforonlySouthboundtraffic(3)inorderto
createasteadyflowturningleftfrom5to3.


Pattern4Leftcycle,8seconds:Allcrosswalkshaveadontwalksign,the
leftturnonlysignalsonbothsidesofPattersonaregreen.

Pattern5Straightcycle,30seconds:Allcrosswalkshaveadontwalksign,
Pattersonhasallgreenlightsallowingtraffictopassfreelybetween1/3/4/6.

AppendixBProposedTrafficPattern

Pattern1Walkcycle,10seconds:Allcrosswalkshavegosignalandalltrafficlights
haveredlight.

Pattern2Springcycle,20seconds:Allcrosswalkshaveadontwalksign,Spring
Streetisgreenforbothleftandrightturns,PattersonisgreenforonlyNorthboundtraffic
(4)inordertocreateasteadyflowturningleftfrom2to4.


Pattern373cycle,20seconds:Allcrosswalkshaveadontwalksign,73isgreenfor
bothleftandrightturns(5),PattersonisgreenforonlySouthboundtraffic(3)inorderto
createasteadyflowturningleftfrom5to3.

Pattern4NewLeftcycle,10seconds:Motoristsaregivengreenlighttomakeleft
turnsfromPattersonontoSpringandfromPattersononto73.Additionally,thetwo
crosswalkswhichhavethegreatestincidenceofjaywalkingaregivenagosignal.


Pattern5Walkcycle,10seconds:Pedestrianscrossingduringleftturnaregiventime
tocompletetheircrossing,andothercrosswalksarelitaswell.

Pattern6Pattersoncycle,30seconds:AllgreenlightsaregivenacrossPatterson,
andnocrosswalksarelit.

Sources

1. Norton,P.D.(2007).StreetRivals:JaywalkingandtheInventionoftheMotor
AgeStreet.TechnologyandCulture,48(2),331359.

2. Beaulieu,D.(2011).HowtoRegulateTrafficinaSustainableWorld(Rep.).
RetrievedMarch31,2016,fromTransportationAssociationofCanada

3. Harrell,W.A.(1991).FactorsInfluencingPedestrianCautiousnessinCrossing
Streets.
TheJournalofSocialPsychology,131

4. Russell,J.C.,Wilson,D.O.,&Jenkins,J.F.(1976).InformationalPropertiesof
JaywalkingModelsasDeterminantsofImitatedJaywalking:AnExtensionto
ModelSex,RaceandNumber.Sociometry,39