University of Washington

The City of Seattle actively promotes bicycling while simultaneously supporting freight mobility. The city is currently considering changes to policies for their commercial vehicle loading zones (CVLZs). A CVLZ is curb space that is restricted to service delivery vehicles (Seattle has about 500). By providing access to legal parking, CVLZs reduce illegal parking by trucks in the street or blocking bicycle lanes. However, CVLZs may negatively affect bicycle safety by increasing the frequency with which trucks cross bicycle lanes to access loading zones. The goal of the project was to describe bicycle and truck interactions from all stakeholder perspectives by conducting observations, and using any available data. To achieve this, the research used an analysis of Seattle bike-truck accident data, interviews with bicyclists who ride in downtown Seattle, interviews and surveys of truck drivers, analysis of video recordings made by cyclists riding in downtown, and observations of truck loading/unloading operations. The study analyzed 10 years of bike-truck accident data for Seattle and discovered 75 bicycle-truck accidents occurred (3 fatalities). Most accidents occurred at or near intersections. While recent high profile bike- truck fatalities in Seattle suggest a problem, the small number of bicycle-truck accidents and a lack of details in the related accident reports make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. The research showed that from bicyclists' perspectives, double parked trucks and trucks parked next to construction zones posed AN EVALUATION OF SAFETY IMPACTS OF SEATTLE'S COMMERCIAL DELIVERY PARKING PRICING PROJECT According to the Washington State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP), almost 90 percent of the large (over $100,000 in damages) transit-related collisions are forward motion accidents with pedestrians, bikers and motorcycle riders. From Washington, California, and Ohio alone, seven transit entities incurred $191 million in losses between 2004 and 2014 due to accidents. It is believed that transit safety, the need to reduce death and injury associated with bus accidents, is of the highest importance to the transit industry and the riding public. The Washington State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP) has partnered with Munich Re, Rosco Vision Systems, Mobileye Technologies, and the University of Washington to implement a transit collision avoidance technology pilot. The test involves 38 buses within seven of the largest members of the 25 member of WSTIP. The objectives of this pilot are stated below, including a brief statement of accomplishments achieved: • Objective: Create a robust Rosco/Mobileye pilot for active/ collision avoidance within the State of Washington on a minimum of 35 transit buses at seven WSTIP members. WASHINGTON STATE TRANSIT INSURANCE POOL STUDIES TRANSIT AVOIDANCE COLLISION SYSTEM Accomplishment: Operated WSTIP and KC Metro Transit buses equipped with Rosco-Mobileye Shield+ systems, logging 352,129 miles and 23,798 operating hours. • Objective: Determine the process of retrofitting existing fleet. Accomplishments: Examined the operating and maintenance requirements for the Shield+ system by maintaining a "trouble ticket" log. Seventeen trouble tickets were logged. • Objective: Develop methodology for estimating the costs savings of avoided collisions. Accomplishments: Examined 232 closed claims for Washington State Transit Insurance Pool spanning January 1, 2006 - December 31, 2015. more serious concerns than CVLZs. Interviews with truckers, as well as observation of truck loading and unloading, showed that truck drivers will park near the businesses they serve, regardless of legality. When trucks illegally park in a bike lane, cyclists maneuver into the stream of traffic, increasing crash risk. Both interviews and video data indicated that construction sites are often sites where trucks block bike lanes. Cyclists also report that loading zones on higher speed, higher volume streets or downhill streets, increase levels of stress. From truck drivers' perspectives, finding parking is a major challenge in downtown Seattle. Drivers mentioned that CVLZs are sometimes difficult to use because of their design and that passenger cars are regularly parked in them. Most of the truck drivers indicated that they have safety concerns with cyclists, as many do not follow road rules. Contact: Anne Goodchild, annegood@uw.edu; Edward McCormack, edm@uw.edu 10 Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium

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