Yesterday's webinar was well-attended and generated a lot of questions. Unfortunately, even though the presenters were gracious enough to stay an extra 20 minutes to try to answer all the questions, some were not answered during the allotted time.
One attendee followed up in regards to one of the two questions he posed that was not answered. I am sharing his question and the response from the presenters below. Other individuals who did not receive answers to their questions should expect a response next week.
Thank you again to Michael McBride and Andrew Cibor for their excellent presentation as well as all attendees who participated.
Question:
Why do you recommend or suggest using RRFBs at multi-lane roundabout when PROWAG explicitly says RRFBs do not meet MUTCD standards for accessible pedestrian signals?
Response from our presenters:
The intent of this discussion was not specifically to recommend the use of RRFBs at multilane roundabout pedestrian crossings. However, RRFBs were presented as an option for pedestrian crossings. It is a tool in our toolbox. The focus should be on designing facilities that generate high yielding rates.
As highlighted during one of the webinar polls, there is a wide range of opinions and ways that designers are working to accommodate pedestrians at multilane crossings. This is something designers need to be mindful of. Our responsibility as engineers is to further existing tools and practices into guidelines and standards by performing evaluations and research on various treatments based on actual field application and detailed study.
Currently, the MUTCD does not make ANY recommendation on how to provide appropriate accessibility at a roundabout crosswalk. Therefore, as engineers we must use engineering judgement to maximize safety for disabled and non-disabled pedestrians at a roundabout crosswalks based on the conditions at that specific location factoring in collected data on how drivers in that locality respond to different types of treatments. This will be the case until there is more consistent notational data on yield behavior associated with various crosswalk treatments or there is a decision from federal highway dictating a formal rule.