PHOEBE was present at Walk21 Portugal on 14 October for a workshop on “Pedestrian Safety: Assessment, planning and design” and to question how this could support the uptake of safe and accessible walking in our cities. The workshop was conducted by POLIS and iRAP, bringing together the different tools to assess the safety of the pedestrian network and how the EU-funded PHOEBE and ELABORATOR projects are aiming to go further by building upon these holistic tools.
The workshop began with a discussion on the importance of establishing a systematic approach to evaluating the safety of pedestrian networks at the local level. It addressed several key topics, such as the need to consider organizational capacities, tools, and resources and the unique characteristics of pedestrian infrastructure. The conversation also highlighted the various professionals who could be involved in modifying these infrastructures. Additionally, it also emphasised the importance of assessing the current state of the infrastructure and making necessary adjustments before planning any new developments. It covered how to prioritise interventions and use targeted, limited actions to establish standards and improve the overall quality of the entire network.
Following this initial discussion, the workshop included an interactive exercise where participants shared their needs, challenges, and perspectives regarding their contexts. Key issues included the difficulty of obtaining accurate and reliable data and grasping the intricate details surrounding pedestrian-related statistics, including crashes and infrastructure status. They emphasized the need for effective evaluation of interventions and their impacts, alongside a clearer understanding of behaviours and the enforcement of new regulations. Another significant point was the importance of reducing speed limits and their connection to the built environment. Additionally, there was a focus on understanding the interactions among pedestrians, cyclists, and emerging micro mobility solutions, particularly regarding their effects on disabled people’s accessibility.
Different contexts will present these challenges in varying degrees and intensities, which will also include specific context-related challenges and needs associated with the morphological characteristics of cities, as well as their policies, regulations, and practices.
iRAP presented their methodologies worldwide, with the Star Rating system for road impact assessment, the iRAP Safety Insights Explorer to visualise the impacts of road crashes and the CycleRAP, and how they can support improving pedestrian safety.
iRAP methodologies are an integral part of the PHOEBE, where they meet demand models, traffic microsimulation, and behaviour models. The PHOEBE ambitions, goals, methodology and framework were presented to the participants so they could grasp and explore how the project aims to bring a more holistic approach to dynamic safety prediction and socio-economic evaluation. Moreover, the PHOEBE framework has great potential to respond to the challenges and needs raised by the participants.
While focusing on the safety of pedestrians, the workshop also provided the opportunity to reflect on how to improve road safety for all modes and interactions.
For PHOEBE, Walk21Portugal was not only an opportunity to showcase the work being done and how it can relate to ELABORATOR but also to listen to and learn from the different experiences and needs of professionals in cities all over Europe, Latin America and Africa to continue to develop an approach that hopefully will support them in increasing pedestrian and road safety.