SAFE TRANSPORTATION FOR EVERY PEDESTRIAN CASE STUDY

RIDOT Crossing Inventory Guides 

Infrastructure Improvements

Rhode Island Department of Transportation 

KEY ELEMENTS:

Inventorying Crossing Locations

Applying Systemic Analysis 

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) 

inventoried all uncontrolled pedestrian crossing 

locations on state-maintained roadways to guide a new 

systemic analysis for safety improvements. The new 

inventory is integrated into the state’s Transportation 

Improvement Program (TIP) project scoping and 

maintenance activities.

BACKGROUND

In the summer of 2019, the Rhode Island 

Department of Transportation (RIDOT) 

undertook an inventory of all uncontrolled 

pedestrian crossings, approximately 750 

crossings, on state-maintained roadways. 

The inventory supported RIDOT’s new 

systemic approach to pedestrian safety and 

complemented its existing hot spot (or crash 

cluster) analysis.

INVENTORY PROCESS

RIDOT built its crossing inventory data 

collection upon the state’s existing MIRE 

(Model Inventory of Roadway Elements) 

dataset and known uncontrolled pedestrian 

crossing locations. 

MIRE is a federally recommended 

framework for roadway and traffic features 

that contains 202 different attributes, 

such as roadway speed, number of 

lanes, sidewalk presence, signage, 

vehicle volumes, and more.1

 RIDOT sent 

contractors into the field with mobile tablets 

running the ArcGIS Online survey platform 

Survey123 to record crossing features (figure 

1) such as existing signage, pavement

markings, impeded sight lines, and need

for vegetation management. This process

enabled the field teams to tag geolocated

photos and gather attributes across

hundreds of sites in a consistent manner.

During its field work, RIDOT identified and

recorded 100 additional crossing locations

that had not been included in the initial

database for an approximate total of 750

crossings.

For more information, please contact:

Sean Raymond, HSIP Program Coordinator, RIDOT Office of Safety

Sean.Raymond@dot.ri.gov | 401.222.2694

©2020 RIDOT.

Figure 1. Graphic. Mobile data collection intake form.
STEP: https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/step/

Case Study: RIDOT Crossing Inventory Guides Infrastructure Improvements

APPLYING THE INVENTORY

After completing the crossing inventory, 

RIDOT developed a risk assessment scoring 

system for roadway segments throughout 

the state, independent of State versus local 

ownership. The risk assessment included 

specific attributes that are predictive of 

pedestrian crashes, such as traffic volume, 

vehicle speed, population density, existing 

pedestrian facilities, transit availability, 

zero vehicle households, and proximity to 

businesses. RIDOT assigned a weight to 

each attribute that indicated its contribution 

to crashes (e.g. low, medium, or high). 

Scores ranged from 0 to 100, with higher 

values indicating higher pedestrian crash 

risk (figure 2).

RIDOT published the segment risk 

assessment to an internal RIDOT webbased dashboard. RIDOT then overlaid 

the new crossing inventory with the risk 

assessment network and applied the STEP 

countermeasure guidance to recommend 

safety improvements for each of the 

crossings. The dashboard enabled RIDOT to 

easily view locations and access inventory 

data, photos, roadway characteristics, and 

potential safety improvements.

OUTCOMES

The inventory and systemic analysis are 

supporting RIDOT’s pedestrian safety 

improvement prioritization in several ways. 

When scoping approved TIP projects, the 

pedestrian crossing risk assessment scores 

and suggested countermeasures help 

guide pedestrian focused improvements. 

RIDOT also evaluates opportunities to 

bundle or combine pedestrian safety 

projects for future TIP project submissions 

(i.e. resurfacing or bridge replacement 

projects). Finally, RIDOT is considering the 

safety improvement recommendations 

within short-term maintenance activities 

such as adding pedestrian warning 

signage and striping. By utilizing 

maintenance activities, RIDOT ensures that 

all crossings meet the minimum signage 

in the MUTCD, signage in poor condition is 

updated, and observed safety concerns 

are addressed through enhanced signage.

References 

1FHWA Roadway Safety Data Program. (2019). "What is MIRE." Last accessed May 13, 2020. https://safety.fhwa.

dot.gov/rsdp/mire.aspx

Figure 2. Graphic. Pedestrian risk assessment map, Providence, RI.

©2020 RIDOT.