Zigzag lines painted on two Loudoun County roads appear to be serving their purpose and slowing down drivers in front of trail crossings, a study has found. The zigzags were painted in 500-foot stretches in front of W&OD trail crossings on two Loudoun County roads in April 2009 as a test to find ways of keeping bicyclists and walkers safer.
Though such markings dot roads in Australia and Britain, local researchers believe the Loudoun tests were the first of their kind in the United States.
Now the findings could pave the way for the zags to be used on roads nationwide, according to local transportation officials. Researchers are recommending the Federal Highway Administration consider adding the low-cost tool to its repertoire.
“Based on the results we’re seeing, we feel it has enough merit that it should be tested more,” said Randy Dittberner, a Virginia Department of Transportation traffic engineer involved in the study.
The year-long study by the Virginia Transportation Research Council found that the average speed of passing cars dropped within the marked zones by about 3 to 5 mph, Dittberner said.
“That’s pretty impressive,” he said. “It is very difficult to get vehicles to slow down for pedestrian crossings.”
An associated survey found that most drivers reported that the markings increased their awareness of the trails. The marks are more cost-effective than flashing beacons, the study found, and the lines continued to have an effect a year after being installed.
Pedestrian deaths in the District and Virginia increased in the first half of last year, with eight and 41 deaths, respectively, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.
At one of the Loudoun test sites, a pedestrian was struck after the zigzags were added, according to the report. But that’s the same as before the lines and researchers said they didn’t have enough data to draw conclusions.
The study recommends VDOT continue to monitor the zigzags for three more years.
More than 2 million people are estimated to use W&OD trail each year, but the 45-mile stretch crosses highways more than 70 times as it passes through Loudoun, Fairfax and Arlington counties.
