Purpose of the Prioritization Tool

Municipalities responsible for the installation and operation of traffic signals are often required to make decisions about the use of accessible pedestrian signals. In many cases, there is a need to prioritize existing signalized intersections for APS installations. Two such cases include:

  1. where the number of requests exceeds the funding available in a given fiscal year, and
  2. where transition plans for making intersections accessible are being completed and decisions must be made about the order of installations.

This prioritization tool provides practitioners with the means to take observable characteristics of a pedestrian crosswalk and produce a score that reflects the relative crossing difficulty for pedestrians who are blind or visually impaired. This scoring system enables a prioritization of APS installations within a jurisdiction.

The information regarding prioritizing intersections for installation of APS is not intended for application to new or reconstructed intersections. In new construction or reconstruction projects, it is appropriate to consider the Draft PROWAG as the best guidance available at this time. This guidance states that in new construction, APS should be installed wherever pedestrian signals are installed.

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