scope:

Information in this guide is presented in four chapters:

Chapter 1, Introduction-This chapter presents the purpose and scope of the guide and its relationship to other documents.

Chapter 2, Planning for Pedestrians-This chapter includes a discussion of pedestrian activity in America, characteristics of pedestrians, transportation planning for pedestrians, and the relationship between land use and pedestrian activity.

Chapter 3, Pedestrian Facility Design-This chapter addresses topics related to pedestrian facility design including the following:

• types of pedestrian facilities;

• the design of longitudinal features such as sidewalks, shoulders, and shared-use paths;

• design of pedestrian crossings; and

• design of intersections.

While the MUTCD serves as the national standard for all traffic control devices installed on any street, highway, or bikeway open to public travel, Chapter 3 includes some discussion of their application. Chapter 3 also includes information on transit, and Chapters 3 and 4 address temporary traffic control zones.

Chapter 4, Pedestrian Facility Operations, Maintenance, and Construction-This chapter addresses the maintenance of pedestrian facilities and ongoing operational concerns such as signal timing and coordination with transit. It also discusses the requirement for maintaining pedestrian access routes during maintenance and construction operations.

The scope of this guide includes planning, design, and operation of both existing and new pedestrian facilities. This guide is not intended to set forth strict standards except those that have been set authoritatively through legislation, but to present sound guidelines that provide for the needs of pedestrians and other roadway users. Where deviations from these standards or from an agency's guidelines are needed, the deviations should be based on an engineering study (and possibly public involvement). The rationale for not conforming to this guide or an agency's guidelines should be documented.

Designing pedestrian facilities involves balancing safety; mobility; preservation of scenic, aesthetic, historic, cultural, and environmental resources; and cost. These considerations should also be balanced within the constraints of design standards and guidelines. Good engineering judgment is needed to achieve this balance and provide pedestrian facilities that are welcoming, safe, and accessible.