In the past decade, Hawaii has been one of the leading states in pedestrian accidents. As mentioned in the Hawaii Strategic Highway Safety Plan, 2007-2012 (SHSP), Hawaii had the 5th highest pedestrian fatality rate nationwide between 2001 and 2005. Among the elderly, Hawaii leads the nation with a rate of 40.2 deaths per 100,000 people 65 years and older, nearly 3 times higher than that for the rest of the United States. The State Department of Transportation recognized the need for safer roadway facilities and identified the Statewide Pedestrian Master Plan as a strategy to improve the pedestrian system in the SHSP.
This project will help to increase pedestrian safety and mobility, support a multimodal transportation system, and provide guidance on the best use of resources to implement pedestrian initiatives. According to the 2000 Census, the majority of residents drive to work alone or carpool. Through this effort, more people may be encouraged to switch their mode of transportation to work by walking or taking public transit.
Figure 1. Means of Transportation to Work, Statewide, 2000 Census
The development of the Statewide Pedestrian Master Plan began in January 2010 and is expected to continue through July 2011.
The work tasks and decision process for the Statewide Pedestrian Master Plan is organized into the following seven decision points as shown in the Work Plan (Figure 2):
- Review/Validate Existing Conditions in the DOT pedestrian system*
- Establish Criteria for identifying the areas of concern and prioritizing projects
- Identify Areas of Concern for further study
- Identify Solutions to address the areas of concern
- Prioritize Solutions (develop a prioritized project list)
- Establish Performance Measures to help track the success of the plan
- Final Plan Recommendation
*The scope of this project covers the DOT pedestrian system.