ATSSA Signal September October 2020

American Traffic Safety Services Association 8 ATSSA News areas, where there is a lot of high- density residential development going into the downtowns, and you are seeing that downtown commercial streetmorph into a local street,” he said. Maintaining safety in that environment starts with regulating speed. That needs to be done through regulatory action, enforcement, and signage. It also calls for physical calming elements like speed tables, speed humps, traffic pillows, and roundabouts. The subcommittee on vulnerable road users is looking at a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) program called Safe Transportation for Every Pedes - trian (STEP). STEP promotes the use of measures such as raised crosswalks, pedestrian refuge islands in larger roads, signalized pedestrian beacons, and road diets—reducing the speed and number of vehicular travel lanes on roads—to help reduce injuries and fatalities. These measures to control motorist behavior parallel an evolving viewof who the streets are there to serve. SHARED STREET PLAN PRECEDED PANDEMIC The city of Alexandria, Va., last year approved a pilot program to allow the conversion of one block of its most famous tourist street—King Street—to a pedestrian-only zone on weekends from April through October. The pandemic initially put the plan on hold until 2021, but when restaurants were allowed to reopen with outdoor dining in late May, city officials revisited the idea as a way to give restaurants more space for outdoor dining. One of the safety issues city officials addressedas theyworkedon theplanwas access for fire and emergency services. Planners included a 22-foot-wide area running the length of the block where no tables or other fixed objects can be placed. Fire officials were OKwith plastic barriers blocking this corridor at either end, since they provide a physical barrier to cars, but also can bemoved if needed. Katye North, the city’s division chief of mobility services, said having a police presence at both ends of the closedblock has also helped keep drivers aware of the pedestrian zone. North said it has been important tomake sure pedestrians are directed back to safe zones when they exit the block. Offi - cials learned early on not to leave gaps between barriers in the middle of the street so that walkers would be pushed to crosswalks as they re-enter an area with vehicular traffic. Old Town Alexandria has always been a pedestrian-heavy area, but it also sees a lot of car traffic. North said she hopes efforts like the closure of the 100 block of King Street will help trainmotorists to be more mindful of pedestrians as they pass through the historic town. “This is giving pedestrians more of a space to have more of a presence and be more visible,” she said. “Hopefully, that’s a reminder to people when they are driving.”  To reach Emily Freehling, [email protected].