Construction & Contractors Blog
If current statistics are anything to go by, it would be right to conclude that the safety and convenience of walking have decreased considerably. Although total road deaths are decreasing, pedestrian deaths have seen a spike of 9.3% annually. This can mean that pedestrians are neglected by town planning, and the results of such inaction are precise. As civil engineers, designing and developing comfortable, safe and efficient pedestrian facilities should be at the core of any urban planning and civil works projects. This article highlights tips for improving pedestrian safety.
Pedestrian Focused -- One area in which modern transport infrastructure facilities fail is recognizing the fact that drivers are likely the main cause of pedestrian fatalities. This happens although a driver has the key elements to avoid collisions. However, there is little in infrastructure design that allows pedestrians to take control of their safety when using roads. For instance, when designing junctions, approved guidelines don't provide for the incorporation of pedestrian views during the design phase. If people are going to use the road, then they must be given a chance to give their opinions on how they would like to use pedestrian facilities. Only when pedestrian views are considered will pedestrian fatality rates drop.
Teaching Pedestrian Design -- Another area to improve road safety is by teaching pedestrian-safety design concepts to civil engineering students extensively. Unfortunately, pedestrian facilities design is only considered an add-on to highway and street design in some universities. Consequently, students graduate as engineers without the vital knowledge of how to design pedestrian-centred roads. For instance, data on reaction time, acceleration and deceleration rates and car sizes are essential when considering driver safety. However, the same parameters are not considered for pedestrian safety even though the safety of the driver and pedestrian are equally important. As such, civil engineering courses should teach pedestrian facilities design to protect pedestrians when drivers fail to uphold road safety rules.
Creative Road Markings -- To encourage pedestrians to use pedestrian facilities, civil engineers must make the utilities exciting and functional. For instance, rather than have pedestrian crossings that go straight from one end of the road to the other, civil engineers should design intersections that mimic natural pedestrian movement. Since pedestrians move in curvature when crossing the street, the markings must also be curved for easy use. You can also paint the markings using vivid colours with characters so that drivers instinctively slow down to enjoy the ingenuity.
For more information, contact a civil works department of a company.
Share26 September 2019
Hello and welcome to my construction blog. My name is David and I would like to tell you about the process of designing and building a new home from the ground up. I had always dreamed of building my own home and last year, that dream became a reality. I had been saving money for many years so I could afford to buy the materials and employ the contractors needed to construct my home. I learnt so much during the process, I decided to start this blog. It was a wonderful day when the final piece of my home was put into place and I am now very happy.