Since the 1970s, zebra crossings have been an endangered species in South Australia.
During that era, South Australia became the only state or territory in Australia to phase them out on its roads due to their perceived poor safety record, and replaced them largely with pedestrian actuated crossings.
In 2012, Adelaide City Council endorsed a transport and movement strategy, which saw it pilot the return of a zebra crossing on Pirie St.
Intouch spoke to Adelaide City Council City Design and Transport program manager Daniel Bennett about what it took to reverse a decision that had stood for decades.
Intouch: Why did the council decide to revisit zebra crossings?
Daniel: In November 2012, the council endorsed Smart Move, The City of Adelaide’s Transport and Movement Strategy 2012-22. The Strategy’s key priority is to create a people-friendly city by improving conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and those using public transport, while balancing the needs for parking, loading and car accessibility.
When Smart Move was released a number of “quick win” projects were identified to improve pedestrian priority/conditions in the city – one of these was to pilot and reintroduce zebra crossings in the city.
Any project that calms traffic, prioritises pedestrian movement, and creates greater awareness of a key pedestrian desire line by formalising it, will ultimately improve safety for all street users.
Intouch: What sort of research/data collection was done prior to the Pirie St trial? Why was Pirie St chosen as the site?
Daniel: Zebra crossings continue to be implemented in other Australian cities successfully, and is a crossing facility type recognised in Australian Standards AS 1742.10. South Australia was the only state to ban its installation in the 1970s.
Pirie St was chosen as the first trial location, as previously it was an un-official crossing point that was designated using “keep clear” symbols on the street. Pedestrian volumes were high, with over 4,000 pedestrians crossing daily being a key link between Victoria Square, Grenfell St and Rundle Mall.
Despite being a two-lane two-way street, due to the constant traffic flows, crossing the street, especially during peak periods used to be difficult. .jpg)
Intouch: What did the trial aim to achieve, what was the timeline, and what were the results of that?
Daniel: The trial aimed to demonstrate that zebra crossings at suitable locations are an effective crossing facility, and are a crossing facility that is supported by the community.
The zebra crossing was evaluated over a six to eight month period.The Pirie St zebra crossing was evaluated based on a number of factors. These included quantitative factors such as: pedestrian volumes, traffic volumes, vehicle speeds and safety/ compliance measures and qualitative factors such as user perceptions/experience.
Some of the key findings from the User Perception surveys include:
98% of the respondents knew how to use a zebra crossing;
91% of the respondents thought a zebra crossing in the Pirie Street location was suitable;
96% of the respondents thought that a zebra crossing in other city locations would also be suitable;
97% of the respondents thought that a zebra crossing improved conditions for pedestrians;
86% of the respondents thought that the delay to motorists was acceptable considering the benefits to pedestrians;
The zebra crossing increased the proportion of pedestrians using the crossing instead of crossing adjacent to the crossing (that is, within 20 metres) from 83.7% to 96.5%;
A 71.9% reduction in the number of pedestrians crossing adjacent to the crossing (that is, within 20 metres) was observed from 782 to 220;
The total number of pedestrians using the crossing increased by 49.5% from 4,011 to 5,998.
Intouch: Was the trial deemed successful?
Daniel: The trial was deemed very successful, and is now complete. You can access the Council Report summarising the outcomes of the trial from here and the User Perception Study from here. Due to the success of the trial, State Government are now permitting the installation of further zebra crossings in South Australian and accordingly developed an Operational Instruction: On-Street Zebra Crossing.
Intouch: Will zebra crossings now be rolled out across the city?
Daniel: Yes, as appropriate. Another zebra crossing is currently planned to be installed in the city in early 2016 on Gilbert St. This crossing forms part of a key north-south walking and cycling link in the city’s south west, and in particular will improve safety for children and staff accessing the South Park Lands from Sturt St Community School.
Intouch: What were the difficulties encountered in the project? Was it tough to change the rules?
Daniel: State Government and Adelaide City Council worked collaboratively on the delivery of this project. There were some administrative difficulties on agreeing to the design standards, and not over-engineering or over-thinking the design – however due to the political will and support from council members and State Government’s CEO at the time we were able to achieve our desired outcome.
Intouch: Why you believe it's important for councils to be open to changes like this?
Daniel: Change is necessary for growth and success - the biggest hurdle sometimes is bringing the community along the ride, and being able to effectively communicate why the change is required. In this instance we were successful, which is a win for all.