University of Maryland, College Park

Final Project Report: A Safety Analysis of the Maryland Purple Line at the University of
Maryland, College Park

Image courtesy of the Maryland Department of Transportation

Jeff Lin, Dominic Rivera, Rian Wambach

Transportation Engineering: ENCE 472-0101

Dr. Paul Schonfeld

29 April 2021
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Table of Contents

Abstract 3
Introduction 4
Literature Review 5
Discussion of Analysis & Methods 8
Safety Improvement and Mitigation Strategies 13
Conclusion 15
Works Cited 16
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Abstract

This paper is intended to analyze the relationship between pedestrian safety and the

dangers that railroads pose, specifically when crossing at authorized and unauthorized crossings.

The level of safety will be measured by reviewing data that focuses on the number of accidents,

types of accidents & their frequency, and other conditions & factors that contribute to these

incidents. Once the level of safety is determined, there will be an additional analysis that will

discuss how these concerns relate to the new Maryland Purple Line and the surrounding

community of College Park. This is an important question that should be explored as the

majority of people that live in the area are college students. College students in that age group

(18-22) tend to engage in behaviors, such as being under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs,

that expose them to danger when compared to other groups. Furthermore, college students are a

specific group that has higher rates of suicide. This reality of increased risk and vulnerability

shows the need for there to be much consideration on how to prevent these types of incidents.

Results suggest that alcohol/drugs increase the likelihood of a pedestrian related accident.

Additionally, suicides are amongst the majority of incidents that take place. Possible solutions

such as improving infrastructure, providing adequate warnings, imposing fines, and increasing

funding to improve oversight at crossings have the capacity to alleviate this problem.
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Introduction

Transportation is a major facet of everyday life for all Americans. The United States is a

country that relies heavily on people being able to get from one place to another with ease,

multiple times a day whether it be for work, errands, or just getting from one place to another. As

a result, there are many modes of public transportation to utilize. This includes trains, planes,

rideshare options (ex. Uber, Lyft), buses, and other types. While the United States government

aims to have equal and safe public transportation for all of its citizens, this is not always the case.

There are many dangers associated with public transportation that should be brought to the

public’s attention.

In August of 2017, construction of the Maryland Purple Line began. The Purple Line is

planned to be 16.2 miles long with at-grade, elevated, and underground aspects to it. With the

future addition of the Purple Line from Bethesda to New Carrollton, the new rail transit line will

run through the center of the University of Maryland (UMD) campus. Because there is an

extremely high percentage of pedestrians on the UMD campus, the majority of whom are

students ages 18-22, the safety of these pedestrians must be given thought when designing the

layout of the tracks and right-of-ways. In addition to this, solutions to help curb the possibility of

pedestrian accidents at authorized crossings and non-crossings must be examined and applied.

In order to properly assess the safety of pedestrians crossing at light rail crossings, it must

be determined which factors influence a safe or dangerous environment. By reviewing what has

gone wrong in the past in regards to accidents, it will be easier to relate these instances to what

types of risks the Purple Line will expose the surrounding community to. This will inspire action

to be taken to find tangible solutions.

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Literature Review

When reviewing sources related to pedestrian accidents & safety, it should be noted what

type of environment and conditions are created due to the presence of light rail locations. Light

rail vehicles (LRV) tend to be quiet when compared to other forms of railroad vehicles. In terms

of frequency, the headway between each vehicle is usually short as they are accommodating

many trips. In regards to passenger concentration, light rail stations are likely to have many

people present at each station due to it being operated daily and for many hours of the day.

Because of the different types of locations and environments that light rail stations are built,

there may be a lack of gated crossings. All of this points to the fact that accidents between

pedestrians and light rail vehicles are usually severe, where the severity of the accident increases

as the speed of the vehicle increases (Irwin 267).

The first thing to consider when examining pedestrian accidents & safety is the role that

pedestrians play in these incidents. According to traffic laws, trains have the right of way at

highway-rail grade crossings. This means that when accidents involving pedestrians occur, it is

due to a violation of this rule (Khattek et al. 91). To harp on this point, trespassing on railroad

property is the leading cause of accidents/deaths that involve rails (Federal Railroad

Administration, USDOT 1). Between 2012 and 2017, fatalities amongst pedestrians increased

18% and is still a lingering problem. When reviewing the “Rail Corridor Trespass Severity

Assessment”, they cited a Finnish survey that inquired about the reasons people trespass. The

results concluded that 80% said that their reason for trespassing was because it was the shortest

and most convenient route. It was also found that the majority were on their way to work, school,

stores, or jogging.
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According to the Transportation Research Forum’s journal entry “Severity of Pedestrian

Crashes at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings”, accidents at these types of crossings usually lead to

serious injury or death. It was concluded that the majority of accidents were in the 20-29 age

group. Their research also found that around 80% of the fatalities that were reported involved

people who consumed alcohol or were intoxicated. One additional thing to reflect on is how

pedestrians intentionally involve themselves in incidents. A study that reviewed fatalities in

Metropolitan Chicago from 2004-2012 found that of the 338 fatalities, 161 were considered on

purpose or suicides (Savage 219). Suicide is a concern amongst college aged students as it is the

second leading cause of death amongst this demographic. About 18% report they are seriously

contemplating it, and amongst that 18%, about 47% have continuous suicidal thoughts (Lamis

543).

There have been many policies and procedures put in place to help mitigate the risks

associated with pedestrian related tragedies. First and foremost, the Federal Railroad

Administration provides guidance on different strategies that will promote pedestrian safety at

crossings. This includes having audibles that notify those at passenger stations of incoming

trains, visuals that help guide & warn pedestrians, installing specific infrastructure, and other

informative methods (Federal Railroad Administration, USDOT 1). In addition to this, risk-based

assessments should be conducted to help identify which hazards are present at the specific station

that is being analyzed (Federal Railroad Administration, USDOT 4). This is done by examining

the surrounding area and looking at walking paths in proximity, physical characteristics of the

platform, and identifying the possibility of hazardous events as a result of the location.

Another approach that has been mentioned would be to follow the national strategy

created by the Federal Railroad Administration that addresses the issue of pedestrians
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trespassing. There are four areas to this strategy. The first strategic area is gathering and

presenting data related to accidents involving trespassing. It’s imperative that this data includes

“close calls”, which are incidents that involve trespassers that are almost hit or involved in

accidents as this data will aid in identifying which areas are hot spots for the possibility of

accidents.The second strategic area is having officials supervise community site visits. This is to

identify local factors that may increase the likelihood of accidents. The third strategic area is

providing more funding for the implementation of trespasser mitigation strategies. Currently

these types of incidents aren’t dealt with by law enforcement & officials at the same rate as other

incidents such as crime. The funding would be used for better access to community outreach.

The fourth and final strategic strategy area is establishing partnerships with the stakeholders.

This includes reaching out and collaborating with other groups and organizations that have

similar goals in regards to improving pedestrian safety.

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Discussion of Analysis & Methods

This section will discuss the several components that contribute to pedestrian related

accidents as well as the factors that particularly impact college students. According to the

Transportation Research Forum’s journal entry “Severity of Pedestrian Crashes at Highway-Rail

Grade Crossings'', there are twelve different variables that can be used to predict the pedestrian

collision severity at rail-grade crossings. The speed of the train at time of collision, pedestrian

gender, the presence of crossing gates, flashing light signals, railroad crossing signs, the type of

area of development, the crossing type, and the weather conditions are all factors that can affect

the likelihood and severity of train-pedestrian collisions. Below is a table summarizing the

results of the model that was found in the paper.

Variable Description/Categories Frequency Percent

Crash severity level

No Injury 16 4.0
Injury 142 35.5
Fatality 242 60.5

Train speed at time of incident, mph

< 25 mph 96 24.0
26-45 mph 155 38.8
> 45 mph 148 37.0
Missing 1 0.3

Crash Circumstance
Rail equipment struck pedestrian 378 94.5
Pedestrian struck rail equipment 22 5.5

Number of traffic lanes at crossing

1 lane 5 1.3
2 lanes 256 64.0
3 lanes 21 5.3
4 lanes 87 21.8
> 4 lanes 31 7.6

Pedestrian gender
Female 73 18.3
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Male 258 64.5

Unknown/Missing 69 17.3

Crossing Gates
Present 366 91.5
Not Present 34 8.5

Standard flashing light signals

Present 286 71.5
Not Present 114 28.5

Highway signals
Present 23 5.8
Not Present 377 94.3

Crossbuck sign
Present 192 48.0
Not Present 208 52.0

Type of area development

Open space 30 7.5
Residential 90 22.5
Commercial 220 55.0
Industrial 48 12.0
Institutional 12 3.0

Crossing surface type

Timber 72 18.0
Asphalt 63 15.8
Asphalt and flange 51 12.8
Concrete 140 35.0
Concrete and rubber 12 3.0
Rubber 59 14.8
Unconsolidated 3 0.8

Weather conditions
Clear 299 74.8
Cloudy 78 19.5
Rain 13 3.3
Fog 5 1.3
Snow 5 1.3

Temperature at time of incident (F)

0-32 36 9.0
33-60 126 31.5
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61-80 178 44.5

81-105 60 15.0

For the first variable of train speed it was estimated that for each 1-mph increase in train

speed beyond the average speed of 40.774, the probability of a fatal crash increases by 0.9%.

Conversely, the probabilities of no injury and injury decrease by 0.1% and 0.8% respectively.

This follows logically since the probabilities of the marginal values can be summed to zero for

every variable. This shows the need for LRVs to travel at an appropriate & safe speed. The

results also indicate that a crash circumstance in which the rail equipment strikes the pedestrian

is much more likely to result in a fatality (26.5% increase) over a circumstance in which the

pedestrian strikes rail equipment. The model also shows that the risk of a fatal collision is higher

for one and two lane tracks than it is for three or more tracks. The plan for the Purple Line is to

have two train lanes separated by a vehicle lane in the middle. This layout would make it

particularly risky and difficult to cross as undesignated crossings.

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Based on the pedestrian gender variable, it was shown that females have a 20.3% higher

fatality risk in pedestrian-train collisions when compared to others (males and unknown/missing

combined). Although females are more likely to have a fatal incident with a train, males are still

much more likely to be involved in a pedestrian-train collision. Males have a higher tendency to

take risks than females given the same situation. According to the article “The Role of Risky

Behaviors and Health Education in College Students’ Health Information Acquisition on the

Internet”, College students within the age range of 19-29 are also more likely to be under the

influence of alcohol when compared to other demographics. A light-rail line running through the

center of the UMD campus without any pedestrian barriers would pose a significant risk to

college students that are inebriated. This hazard is exacerbated given the fact that there are

several bars in close proximity to UMD’s campus where those who live on campus would have

to pass by the route of the Purple Line on their way back to their residence.

Suicide is also a serious problem among college aged individuals, particularly males. In

addition to the statistics about suicide mentioned in the literature review, a Finnish study found

that about 84.9% of fatal train-pedestrian collisions are the result of suicides, with the majority of

these cases being in the age range of 20-29. Additionally, the victims of train related suicides are

on average younger than suicides via other methods. Half of all train suicide victims are also

intoxicated by alcohol or other drugs (Khattak, 92). College students who have alcohol related

problems have been shown to have a higher propensity towards a perception of burdensomeness

and a feeling of unbelonging. These two factors are a part of Joiner’s interpersonal-psychological

theory of suicide that states that these two constructs form the most serious form of suicidal

desire (Lamis, 544). The plan for a un-barriered Purple Line on campus establishes a new threat
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to the UMD population at risk of suicide due to the fact that it provides a way for people to

intentionally involve themselves in an accident.

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Safety Improvement and Mitigation Strategies

College Park has the potential to be a major hotspot for pedestrian related accidents. As

mentioned in a Streetsblog article, Hyattsville, Maryland is known as a hotspot. The reason for

this is that it is a high density area with both residential and commercial areas, causing people to

go back and forth between the two (Snyder). Hyattsville is located approximately 3 miles from

College Park, which is why the areas are so similar. This similarity in the characteristics of both

areas show the importance for College Park to find ways to prevent these terrible events from

occurring. The construction of the Purple Line will bring various hazards and safety concerns to

the campus community. Pedestrian guidance and other strategies must be put in place at each

crossing section to prevent any serious injuries. Designated areas for pedestrian crossing should

be designed so students wouldn’t be able to cross at any point along the railroad. Crossing areas

can be spaced out at each intersection to reduce the amount of congestion and foot traffic from

students.

There are several ways to create designated areas for pedestrians to cross. One way is to

install fencing at or near pedestrian platforms. This helps to guide the pedestrians away from the

track area and allow them to stay in a safety zone away from the moving train. Fencing along the

railroad should be tall enough to prevent fencing hopping over the track. In addition to this,

above level crosswalks could be installed to reduce the risks of crossing over the tracks.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportations, at each crossing station, audible

and visual warnings are required to guide pedestrians across the track. Signs could be installed at

each crosswalk to give pedestrians a visual warning and some general awareness & knowledge

of where the train is coming from. Traffic signals could also be positioned deliberately to warn

pedestrians of the arrival of the train so there won’t be any last minute crossings. Audible
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warnings such as announcements for the arrival and departure of a train would also help

pedestrians prepare for the train’s movement.

The Federal Railroad Administration also recommends working with law enforcement

like the University of Maryland campus police to develop a penalty for pedestrians who illegally

cross or enter the railroad track. This fine can be as much as $500 for any pedestrians crossing

the railroad when there is a clear signal for when a train is about to approach in addition to

crossing at unauthorized zones. This punishment is intended to discourage & limit any

inappropriate actions that could result in injury or death. The money coming from these tickets

could be reinvested to maintain the railroad and the surrounding area.

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Conclusion

The inclusion of the University of Maryland campus along the route of the Purple Line

will greatly increase the mobility of people in and around UMD. With the line running from

Bethesda to New Carrollton UMD will become more accessible to the rest of the metro region as

well. While this is certainly an advantage to have at a large institution, a light-rail line running

through the center of campus brings significant risk.

The UMD campus has a very large number of pedestrians compared to other areas along

the proposed route of the Purple Line. The sheer number of pedestrians on campus alone is cause

for concern, regarding a light-rail line. Additionally, college aged people are significantly more

likely to place themselves in risky situations, including crossing a rail line at undesignated

crossings. College students are also more likely to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs

which impairs their ability to make well thought out decisions. When taking into account that

suicide is the most common cause of fatal pedestrian-train collisions and alcohol is a contributing

factor to the elevated suicide rate among college students, safety improvements should be

considered to prevent these types of dangers.

Since light-rails are responsible for the second highest fatalities per mile of all

transportation types, barriers, signs, audible warnings, and traffic signals should be implemented

to maximize the safety of both pedestrians and riders on the trains. Law enforcement should also

be utilized as a safety measure to discourage pedestrians from crossing at undesignated locations.

Pedestrian safety should be a major concern for the design of the Purple Line on the UMD

campus. This concern reveals why it is essential to ensure a safe environment for the residents of

UMD as well as any visitors by proposing and putting to action the most successful policies &

procedures.
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Works Cited

Basic, Josipa, and Sanda Erdelez. “The Role of Risky Behaviors and Health Education in

College Students’ Health Information Acquisition on the Internet.” Proceedings of the

Association for Information Science and Technology, vol. 52, no. 1, 2015, pp. 1–10.,

doi:10.1002/pra2.2015.145052010049.

Irwin, Don. “Safety Criteria for Light Rail Pedestrian Crossings.” Transportation Research

Board, National Academy of Sciences, 2003,

onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/circulars/ec058/08_02_Irwin.pdf.

Khattak, Aemal, and Li-Wei Tung. “Severity of Pedestrian Crashes at Highway-Rail Grade

Crossings.” Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, vol. 54, no. 2, 2015, pp.

91–100., doi:10.5399/osu/jtrf.54.2.4291.

Lamis, Dorian A, and Patrick S Malone. “Alcohol-related problems and risk of suicide among

college students: the mediating roles of belongingness and burdensomeness.” Suicide &

life-threatening behavior vol. 41,5 (2011): 543-53.

doi:10.1111/j.1943-278X.2011.00052.x

Savage, Ian. “Analysis of fatal train-pedestrian collisions in metropolitan Chicago 2004-2012.”

Accident; analysis and prevention vol. 86 (2016): 217-28. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2015.11.005

Searcy, Sarah, et al. Rail Corridor Trespass Severity Assessment. Research and Development

Unit, North Carolina Department of Transportation, 2019,

rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/41976.

Snyder, Tanya. “Pedestrian Deaths on Railroad Tracks: The Failure of Design.” Streetsblog USA,

13 Dec. 2012, usa.streetsblog.org/2012/12/13/

pedestrian-deaths-on-railroad-tracks-the-failure-of-design/.
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United States, Congress, Federal Railroad Administration. National Strategy to Prevent

Trespassing on Railroad Property, USDOT, 2018, pp. 1–22. Reports to Congress.

United States, Congress, Railroad Safety, and Office of Safety. Guidance on Pedestrian Crossing

Safety at or near Passenger Stations, USDOT, 2012, pp. 1–24.