ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a study that tests whether traffic signals in lower-income communities favor motorized vehicles more than they do in higher-income communities. Signal timing and the difficulty of crossing the street can have negative cascading effects on community well-being and public health including: perceived safety, pedestrian injury and collisions, fewer people walking and biking, and economic vibrancy of small business nodes. Traffic signals have their own unique equity issues. Environments that promote active transportation are essential to the promotion of safe and healthy communities. The signal timing study was designed to test the hypothesis that traffic signals favor vehicles in lower-income neighborhoods compared to higher-income neighborhoods. The hypothesis that signal timing is a community concern was partially supported by the results. Respondents provided personal opinions regarding signal timing. People in Columbia City and Rainier Beach identified signal timing as a primary barrier to crossing Rainier.
