Hochmuth Jonathan, Newton Erik, Van Houten Ron
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV.
Department of Psychology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.
Transp Res Rec. 2023 Dec;2678(3). doi: 10.1177/03611981231213877.
The gateway in-street sign configuration has been demonstrated to be a low-cost method for increasing motorist yielding the right of way to pedestrians at crosswalks. It has previously been hypothesized that the gateway is effective because it visually narrows a travel lane. In the present study, gateway widths (i.e., distance between signs) were compared to determine whether there was a differential effect on motorist yielding. Experiment 1 was a parametric analysis of distance between the signs, varying in 2-ft intervals from 12 to 18 ft. The results showed that the percentage of motorists yielding increased as the distance between the signs decreased. Experiment 2 examined curb-top and gutter-pan placements of the edge signs at three different sites. Both placements produced substantial increases in yielding compared with baseline, though the difference between gutter-pan and curb-top placement was not significant at two of the three sites. Based on the distance between signs in these two configurations, the results at two of the sites aligned with those in Experiment 1, and one site demonstrated much higher yielding than would have been predicted. This suggests that small increases in the distance between signs may result in a minor decrease in yielding but may improve the survivability of the signs and reduce maintenance costs over time. The potential to combine this sign effect with other engineering treatments (e.g., curb extensions and bicycle lanes) was additionally explored. The results are discussed in relation to a perceived narrowing hypothesis, sign survival, cost effectiveness, and equity.
街道入口标志配置已被证明是一种低成本的方法，可增加驾车者在人行横道上让行人先行的几率。此前有人推测，入口标志之所以有效，是因为它在视觉上缩小了行车道的宽度。在本研究中，对入口标志的宽度（即标志之间的距离）进行了比较，以确定对驾车者让行是否有不同的影响。实验1是对标志之间距离的参数分析，距离以2英尺为间隔，从12英尺到18英尺不等。结果表明，随着标志之间距离的减小，驾车者让行的百分比增加。实验2在三个不同地点检查了边缘标志在路缘顶部和排水沟盘的放置情况。与基线相比，两种放置方式都使让行率大幅提高，不过在三个地点中的两个地点，排水沟盘放置和路缘顶部放置之间的差异并不显著。基于这两种配置中标志之间的距离，其中两个地点的结果与实验1一致，另一个地点的让行率比预期的要高得多。这表明标志之间距离的小幅增加可能会导致让行率略有下降，但随着时间的推移可能会提高标志的耐用性并降低维护成本。此外还探讨了将这种标志效果与其他工程处理措施（如路缘扩展和自行车道）相结合的可能性。讨论了与感知到的变窄假设、标志耐用性、成本效益和公平性相关的结果。
