NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Up to 1,000 pedestrians cross Nashville intersections during the busiest time of day. That's why the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure is changing them to account for pedestrian safety.

NDOT has restructured dozens of intersections to include what's called a "Leading Pedestrian Interval." In the restructured intersections, pedestrians will have a 3- to 7-second window to cross before cars are given a green arrow to turn left.

NDOT has given 67 different intersections the LPIs, they told News 2. It's part of the department's ongoing effort to change signal timing across the city.

They've also removed protected left turns from several of those intersections. According to NDOT, they hope the removal helps reduce the number of vehicle and pedestrian crashes.

Data so far has shown a 13% decrease in pedestrian-vehicle crashes at intersections with LPIs, the department said.

"Prioritizing pedestrian safety is prioritizing mobility for everyone," KCI Technologies' Beth Ostrowski told News 2. "Some intersections have leading pedestrian intervals. As a result of that, that time has to be taken from somewhere, and we do have intersections that have lost a left turn signal as a part of that process."

NDOT said they're planning to make this change at a total of 108 intersections in downtown Nashville.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/ndot-reshaping-intersections-pedestrian-safety/