Pedestrian Facilities in South Africa: Research and Practice

Abstract

An overview of the pedestrian accident problem in South Africa is given, and the engineering solutions implemented to improve pedestrian safety are discussed. The pedestrian problem accounts for part of the road safety problem in South Africa. In recent years there has been a reduction in the number of pedestrian fatalities and injuries. Research findings in the early 1980s showed that inadequate provision was being made for pedestrians in a country where about 80 percent of all trips were made by public transport and by foot. A comprehensive research program has been conducted since 1980 to upgrade all the facilities through the development of warrants for the provisions and guidelines for the correct layout and siting of the various types of pedestrian facilities. The various operational problems encountered at the different types of pedestrian facilities are discussed to provide a safer environment. These problems and solutions are dealt with according to the various traffic engineering approaches adopted to improve pedestrian safety. First, the methods used to integrate pedestrians with vehicular traffic are highlighted, namely through temporal separation (pedestrian crossings, school patrol crossings, traffic lights) and soft separation (traffic calming measures). Second, the technologies developed to segregate pedestrians from vehicular traffic through horizontal separation (pedestrian malls, township layout, sidewalks) and vertical separation (foot bridges and subways) are discussed. Other aspects are pedestrian facilities on rural roads, pedestrian signs and markings, and facilities for disabled pedestrians. Apart from the dissemination to practitioners of individual research reports on pedestrian facilities produced since 1980, the warrants and guidelines developed since 1980 were incorporated into a pedestrian facility manual published in 1993. Technology transfer workshops were conducted throughout South Africa to train road authorities and consulting engineers on use of the manual. It is concluded that the implementation of these warrants and guidelines since the mid-1980s together with a holistic traffic safety management plan have contributed to the reduction in pedestrian fatalities and injuries since 1989.