We All Want the Same Thing:: Results from a Roadway Design Survey of Pedestrians, Drivers, Bicyclists, and Transit Users in the Bay Area

Pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, and public transit users all desire similar design features on local streets. At least, that is what a recent intercept survey of Bay Area residents found with regard to a major urban corridor. This paper elaborates on the findings from this survey, which was conducted as part of a larger effort to establish performance measures for pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility for the California Department of Transportation. The survey was conducted to understand traveler preferences for street design to increase perceived traffic safety, walkability, and bikability, as well as encourage economic vitality through increased visits.

When asked an open-ended question about what street improvements could be added to make them feel safer from traffic along the survey corridor, all respondent groups requested the same top five improvements. Pedestrians, drivers, and bicyclists all named bicycle lanes as the top traffic safety improvement for the corridor (ranked fifth by public transit respondents), followed for nearly all groups by improved pedestrian crossings (ranked third by bicyclists). The remaining top five elements, while the same for all groups, were ordered slightly differently among them: slowing traffic/improving driver behavior, installing more traffic lights, and increasing the amount of street lighting. A similar open-ended question asking about street improvements that could encourage more visits to the corridor included a preference among all user groups for increased street trees and landscaping, street lighting, a bicycle lane, and public art/beautification.

These findings strongly suggest that traditional ideas of nuanced planning for various user groups may miss opportunities to create an urban street environment that is pleasing to all user groups by focusing efforts on a handful of design ideas. In addition, there is evidence that design features previously thought to benefit only one user group, such as bicycle lanes, may have unmeasured benefits for other user groups like pedestrians and drivers. In an era in which "complete streets" principles are becoming more common and accepted, these findings offer encouraging evidence that this concept is on the right track to increase perceptions of traffic safety and encourage more lively streets through attracting users. These results also offer evidence of targeted actions that could encourage more walking and bicycling along local streets, helping to achieve goals of increased physical activity among the general population.