PRSA Program Description

Montgomery County’s Pedestrian Road Safety Audit (PRSA) Program, which began in 2008, is a key strategy of Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett’s Pedestrian Safety Initiative. Road safety audits (RSA) were first performed in the United Kingdom over 25 years ago, and have since been performed in many countries by transportation agencies at national, state, and local levels. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) defines an RSA as “a formal safety performance examination of an existing or future road or intersection by an independent audit team.” While all RSAs take the needs of pedestrians into consideration, a pedestrian road safety audit is designed to provide transportation agencies with a better understanding of how the safety and accessibility of pedestrians and cyclists can be more appropriately incorporated into the RSA process.

Thus far, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), which oversees the County’s PRSA program, has focused on performing safety audits of existing facilities. However, road safety audits are also commonly performed for planned roadway projects. As of the summer of 2011, PRSAs have been conducted at eight (8) of the County’s high incidence areas (HIAs). These are areas that have been identified as being among the highest priorities for pedestrian safety based on a five-year history of pedestrian-related crashes.

Since much of the vehicular and pedestrian traffic within the County exists on State roadways, the PRSA program relies heavily on coordination with the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA). Still, the PRSA program has also involves engagement with Federal and various local agencies, which provide stakeholder input and even participate in field audits. Overall, the PRSA process incorporates a broad array of input through cooperation with transportation professionals, local communities, law enforcement, and public officials.

The PRSA process is based largely on FHWA’s Pedestrian Road Safety Audit Guidelines and Prompt Lists, which was published in 2007. This is the principle technical resource for the County’s audit process. The outcome of the PRSA is the publishing of a PRSA report as a resource for pursuing a pedestrian safety strategy for HIAs, which include a balance of engineering, education, and enforcement (i.e., The Three E’s). The report is also a resource to regional transportation agencies in the broader consideration of pedestrian and bicycle-related issues in the development of improvement projects. Our current PRSA summary reports are available at: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/walk

Pedestrian Safety Initiative  

When County Executive Isiah Leggett was elected in December, 2006, he pledged to make improving pedestrian and traffic safety a priority of his administration.  Citing the need to do more to improve pedestrian safety, County Executive Leggett issued this Pedestrian Safety Initiative in
December, 2007.  This comprehensive, strategic plan identifies seven strategies to fully implement the recommendations made in the original Blue Ribbon Panel report.