Memo of Transmittal

To: Cal Poly University Police Department

From: Luis Villalpando
Date: November 27, 2016
Subject: Proposal to Increase Crosswalk Safety at Uncontrolled Intersections
at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Attached is the recommendation report concerning the safety of crosswalks
on uncontrolled intersections throughout Cal Polys campus. The purpose of
this report is to increase the safety for pedestrians using the crosswalks
previously mentioned.

Recommendation
Two similar solutions are analyzed throughout the report. The two proposed
recommendations are:
Installing stop signs at the uncontrolled intersections
Installing yellow caution lights to warn drivers of the presence of a
pedestrian on a crosswalk

Methods
Several methods of research were used in order to make a final decision. The
primary sources used are:
An interview with Marlene Cramer
An online survey of Cal Poly Students
The secondary sources used are:
Mustang News Article
Peer reviewed article
Online website

Findings

The information found my research can be found in the Results section of

my report. The analysis of this research can be found in the Conclusion
section.

Final Recommendation

My proposed solution is to install yellow hazard lights that will warn drivers of
pedestrians using the crosswalk in order to increase the safety of said
pedestrians.
Thank you for taking the time to take this report into consideration. Please
let me know if you have any questions.

Prepared for Marlene Cramer

Cal Poly University Police Department

Proposal to Increase Crosswalk Safety at

Uncontrolled Intersections at Cal Poly San Luis
Obispo

Prepared by Luis Villalpando

Submitted November 27, 2016

Table of Contents
Introduction
....1
Methods
1-2
Primary
.2
Secondary
2
Results
2-4
Primary
.3
Secondary
4
Conclusions
4-5
Recommendation
.5
References
.6
Figures
Cited
.6
Appendix
A
7

Table of Figures
Figure 1: Crosswalk safety survey
response3
Figure 2: Visual representation of crosswalk light
beacon5

Introduction
Purpose
In this report, I will be investigating the best solution in order to make it safer
for Cal Poly students to use crosswalks at uncontrolled intersections 1.
According to a survey that I conducted, 68% percent of students do not
believe that crosswalk safety is the safest it can be at Cal Poly [1]. Student
safety is a very important part of Cal Polys campus, which is why actions
must be taken in order to make students feel safe when they use a
crosswalk. It is important that a student feels safe, especially at school.
My client is Marlene Cramer, Associative Director of University Police from
the University Police Department. I have two potential solutions to deal with
the issue. My first proposed solution is that lights should be added to all
crosswalks in order to give a better visual signal to a driver that someone is
crossing the street. My second proposed solution is that stop signs should be
added to all crosswalks that do not already have them. I will analyze these
two solutions in order to determine the best way to achieve the goal of
making crosswalks safer at Cal Poly.

Background
I do not believe that the crosswalks at our school are as safe as they can be.
The survey I conducted shows that the majority of students can agree with
that statement [1]. Currently, there are 87 crosswalks on campus, 33 of
which do not have stop signs [A]. These 33 crosswalks that do not have stop
signs are located on roads that have uncontrolled traffic which reduce the
safety of students who use the crosswalks. I have had my fair share of
incidents where I both am almost hit by a car and almost hit a person
crossing the street while driving. The majority of my close encounters have
happened when it is dark out. These circumstances make it harder for drivers
to see that someone is crossing the street, especially at poorly lit crosswalks.

Organization
This report is firstly made up off the primary and second methods used for
research, then the results of the research from the sources, then comparing
the proposed solutions using my results, and finally deciding between the
following recommendations:

Installing yellow caution lights that warn drivers that a pedestrian is

using the crosswalks
Installing stop signs at the intersections that do not already have them

Methods
For this recommendation proposal, I used a combination of both primary and
secondary sources in order to obtain the two best possible solutions to
combat the issue of unsafe crosswalks. My primary sources include an

interview with a representative from the University Police Department and a

survey conducted on Facebook. The secondary sources include a newspaper
article, a peer reviewed article, and an online website.
1. Intersection where traffic moves freely through it

Primary Methods
Interview
I emailed UPD with the following questions regarding crosswalk safety and
received a reply from Marlene Cramer:
1. Is pedestrian safety a big concern at Cal Poly?
2. What has been done in the past in order to make it safer for
pedestrians to cross the streets on campus?
3. How would you compare the safety of crosswalks with no stop signs to
those with stop signs?
4. How many pedestrian-vehicle accidents have occurred at crosswalks at
Cal Poly?
Survey
I conducted a short survey on the Class of 2018 and Class of 2019 Facebook
Pages with the following questions and received 113 replies:
1. What year are you currently?
2. Do you believe that the crosswalks throughout campus are as safe as
they can be?
3. Have you ever been or almost been hit by a car while using a
crosswalk at Cal Poly?
4. Have you ever been or almost been hit by a bicycle while using a
crosswalk at Cal Poly?
5. Have you ever witnessed or know of anyone who has been or almost
has been hit by any sort of vehicle while using a crosswalk at Cal Poly?

Secondary Methods
Online Website
I found an online article with that contains research describing the various
factors that come into play in order to make a crosswalk safer.
Peer Reviewed Article
I found a peer reviewed article titled Analysis of
Vehicle Speed Change
at Non-signalized Crosswalks Based on
Driving Behavior by Tianyi Wang,
Xiaobei Jiang, Wuhong Wang, and Qian Cheng through the Kennedy Library
databases about research conducted on a college campus analyzing the
behavior of drivers as they approach a crosswalk. The article was accepted
for the journal Procedia Engineering.

Newspaper Article
I found an article published by Mustang News on November 16, 2011 titled
Slight Increase in Pedestrian Accidents on Campus by Sean McMinn talking
about an increase in accidents at crosswalks on campus.

Results
My primary sources and my third secondary source gave me more insight
into the crosswalk safety situation on campus. The other two secondary
sources gave me data and analysis that helped make my decision for a
solution.

Primary Methods

Interview
Marlene Cramer answered the following questions [2]:
1. Is pedestrian safety a big concern at Cal Poly?
Pedestrian safety is a very important issue to us and we do as
much as possible
to ensure the safety of our students.
2. What has been done in the past in order to make it safer for
pedestrians to cross the streets on campus?
Crosswalks have been repainted in the past in order to make
them more visible
to drivers. We also have cross guards
that help students and drivers during the
peak
morning
and
afternoon hours.
3. How would you compare the safety of crosswalks with no stop signs to
those with stop signs?
Crosswalks with stop signs are safer than those without any.
4. How many pedestrian-vehicle accidents have occurred at crosswalks at
Cal Poly?
The exact number of accidents is uncertain as many accidents
go unreported,
but on average we see about 5 pedestrian
accidents a year.
Survey
I was able to get 113 responses to the survey. 77 students reported that they
did not believe crosswalks are as safe as they could be, while 36 students
did. Only 23 students reported having been or almost having been hit by a
car while using a crosswalk. On the other hand, 35 students reported having
been or almost having been hit by a bicycle. 49 students witnessed or knew
of someone who had been or almost had been struck by bicycle or car while
using a crosswalk [1].

Are crosswalks as safe as they can be?

Yes; 32%

No; 68%

Secondary Methods

Online Website
The online article describes various solutions in order to make a crosswalk
safer. The website compares the costs of different crosswalks visuals in order
to warn drivers of the presence of a pedestrian. The website states that a
flashing beacon is about 5,000 dollars while a stop/yield sign costs about 300
dollars. The research concludes that the best way to catch the drivers
attention is through the use of lights, despite the higher cost. The lights will
catchFigure
the 1:
drivers
attention
and Response
provide [1]
warning that a pedestrian is using
Crosswalk
Safety Survey
the crosswalk. [5]
Peer Reviewed Article
The research described in the article examines the behavior of drivers as
they approach crosswalks on a college campus. The research found that
drivers on a college campus tend to be more impatient and thus are a bigger
threat to pedestrians. The research also revealed that a large majority of
drivers do not begin to brake until the last few meters before approaching a
crosswalk instead of slowing down and being more cautious. The research
concluded that drivers need more visual aids to inform them that someone is
crossing the street [4].
Newspaper Article
The article on Mustang News describes an increase in accidents in the past
years at crosswalks on campus. Writer, Sean McMinn, reports that in between
2005 and 2011, there have been 23 pedestrian-vehicle accidents and that
there might be more, but they go unreported as they are minor. The article

also describes an accident that occurred on campus in which a student

walking to class was hit by a van at a crosswalk. The driver claims that he did
not see the student using the crosswalk as the sun blinded him, but the
student claimed otherwise [3].

Conclusions
Students at Cal Poly deserve to feel safe when they are walking through
campus. Unfortunately, that is not the case as the results of my survey
demonstrate that students do not feel crosswalks are as safe as they can be
[1]. In addition, there are too uncontrolled crosswalks that pose a threat to
the safety of students [A]. That is why the universitys police department
should take into consideration my two proposed solutions in order to make
crosswalks safer for pedestrians.
My first proposed solution is that stop signs be added to the existing
crosswalks that do not currently have them. This will force all vehicles
approaching the crosswalk to make a complete stop which will allow
pedestrians to cross the street safely. The cost of adding a stop sign is
relatively cheap so the overall cost of this solution is significantly cheap [5].
One downside to this solution is that by adding stop signs, there may be an
increase in traffic at these crosswalks during peak hours. Overall this should
not be a problem, as it is reducing the risk of an accident between a
pedestrian and a vehicle.
4

My second proposed solution is that caution lights be added at the

crosswalks that do not have stop signs. A student must simply press the
button attached to the lights post which will cause the caution lights to turn
on. The lights will warn any approaching driver that a pedestrian is crossing
the street. The driver will be alerted to slow down. This solution is more
expensive than the first solution as it requires more work to install the lights
as opposed to the stop signs [5]. The upside is that the lights will not
interfere with the flow of traffic which is very important especially during the
busiest times of the day. The lights will also provide a more visual warning to
drivers to slow down when approaching a crosswalk [4]. Another benefit of
the lights is that drivers will be able to be warned despite it being light or
dark out.
Safety is a big issue to the school, which is why my second solution is the
better option despite the higher cost as it will not interrupt the flow of traffic,
it will be more attention grabbing than a stop sign, and will be more useful
especially when its dark out and the visibility is reduced [2].

Recommendation

Through my research, I recommend that crosswalk light beacons be added to

crosswalks that do not have stop signs in order to increase the safety of
students when they cross a street. The next step is to find the funding and
begin planning on the installation of the crosswalk light beacons.

Figure 2: Crosswalk Light Beacon to be Installed

5

References
[1] L.Villalpando, On-Campus Pedestrian Safety at Cal Poly, Survey. 20
November 2016.
[2] M.Cramer, Associative Director of University Police, University Police
Department.
Interview. San Luis Obispo, CA. 21 November 2016.
[3] S.McMinn, Slight Increase in Pedestrian Accidents on Campus, Mustang
News, Mustang Media Group, 16 November 2011.
[4] Tianyi Wang, Xiaobei Jiang, Wuhong Wang, Qian Cheng, Analysis of
Vehicle Speed Change at Non-signalized Crosswalks Based on Driving
Behavior, Procedia Engineering, vol. 137, pp 547-553, 2016.
[5] "SRTS Guide: Marking and Signing Crosswalks", Guide.saferoutesinfo.org,
2016. [Online]. Available:

http://guide.saferoutesinfo.org/engineering/marked_crosswalks.cfm#oh.
[Accessed: 23- Nov- 2016].
[6] Carmanah, Crosswalk Light Beacon. 2016
[7] L. Villalpando, "My Cal Poly Map", Google.com, 2016. [Online]. Available:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?
hl=en&hl=en&authuser=0&authuser=0&mid=
1OUI36HRdS8I_JX5bGKKvPHpQ_QI&ll=35.30318092799143%2C120.65971303914796&z=16. [Accessed: 27- Nov- 2016].

Figures Referenced
[1] Figure 1. Crosswalk Safety Survey Response, Survey. 20 November
2016.
[6] Figure 2. Carmanah, Crosswalk Light Beacon. 2016.

Appendix A
This is a map of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. All of the markers are crosswalks
located on campus. The blue markers represent crosswalks that have stop
signs, while the red markers represent the uncontrolled crosswalks that do
not have stop signs. There are a total of 87 crosswalks, 33 of which do not
have stop signs [7].