Walk+Bike+Roll Randolph

Pedestrian Safety Survey Results

Walk+Bike+Roll Randolph (WBRR) closed its pedestrian safety survey this fall with 43 responses. The survey asked how safe people feel walking in downtown Randolph, what factors affect that, and how well three recent safety improvements are working: the in-street pedestrian signs, the pedestrian safety flags, and the flashing beacon at the Kimball Library crosswalk.

Of the 43 respondents, 35 (81%) live in downtown Randolph or the surrounding neighborhoods, 6 (14%) live elsewhere in Randolph (Randolph Center, East Randolph, North Randolph), and 2 (5%) live outside of town. Eighteen respondents (42%) are 70 or older, 13 (30%) are 50 to 69, and 12 (28%) are 18 to 49.

How safe people feel

Respondents rated how safe they feel walking in downtown Randolph on a scale of 1 (not safe at all) to 5 (completely safe).

Bar chart of how safe respondents feel walking downtown: 3 rated it 1, 6 rated 2, 15 rated 3, 14 rated 4, and 5 rated it 5.

Nineteen respondents (44%) rated their sense of safety a 4 or 5. Nine respondents (21%) rated it a 1 or 2.

Respondents who did not feel completely safe could select up to two contributing factors from a list. Traffic speed was selected most often, by 21 respondents (49%), followed by the condition of sidewalks (15 respondents, 35%) and a lack of sidewalks where people want to walk (14 respondents, 33%). Lighting at night, the condition of crosswalks, and the volume of large vehicles were each selected by 4 respondents (9%).

Horizontal bar chart of factors that make people feel unsafe: traffic speed 49 percent, condition of sidewalks 35 percent, lack of sidewalks 33 percent, and lighting, crosswalk condition, and large vehicles each 9 percent.

How the current safety measures are rated

Respondents rated three current safety measures on a scale of 1 (not effective) to 5 (very effective).

Stacked bar chart of effectiveness ratings with average rating per measure: flashing beacon 4.3, in-street signs 3.4, safety flags 2.8.

The flashing beacon received the highest ratings of the three: 35 respondents (81%) rated it a 4 or 5. Ratings for the in-street signs were more mixed, with 22 respondents (51%) rating them a 4 or 5. The pedestrian safety flags received the widest range of ratings, spread fairly evenly across the scale.

What respondents suggested

The survey included an open-ended question asking for ideas to make downtown safer and more attractive for people walking. The most common suggestions were:

  • Sidewalk repairs and extensions, including repairing damaged or uneven sidewalks and adding sidewalks on Park Street/Wallace Hill and to Shaw’s.
  • Additional flashing beacons at other intersections, most often mentioned for Main Street intersections with Merchants Row and Pleasant Street.
  • Increased enforcement of the posted speed limit.
  • Higher-visibility crosswalk markings, with several respondents citing the green crosswalks in Bethel as an example.

Several respondents commented specifically on the pedestrian safety flags. Some described them as helpful. Others said they are unnecessary, reduce visibility, or are an eyesore.

WBRR will use these results to help set priorities for future work with the Town of Randolph.

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