Navigating Work Zones: The Pedestrian Perspective

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has a mandate to accommodate pedestrians, including those with special needs, in temporary work zones. In order to help TxDOT meet this mandate, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) conducted a two-year research project to first compile information on the current state of the practice. Information was gathered from numerous sources, including the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. They also conducted several human factors studies to examine how pedestrians, especially the impaired, navigate work zones. After discussions with state and local agency officials, the TTI team identified a need for guidelines to aid in handling pedestrian traffic consistently in temporary traffic control situations. They created a checklist, which offers advice on how to address pedestrian concerns during the various stages of a project. The checklist also provides topics and issues to be considered, as well as examples or discussions for each topic.