This article will guide you on how to create a citizen survey about pedestrian safety. With Specific, you can generate a smart, conversational survey in seconds—no manual formatting needed, just results.
Steps to create a survey for citizens about pedestrian safety
If you want to save time, just click this link to generate a survey with Specific. Building surveys with AI is beyond simple—you can create a comprehensive citizen survey about pedestrian safety in seconds using semantic survey technology. You can also start from scratch in the AI survey generator for any custom needs.
Tell what survey you want.
Done.
Honestly, you don’t even need to read further if you’re ready to dive in—AI handles not only your survey creation but also crafts expert-level questions and asks respondents insightful follow-up questions to uncover the real story behind the data. It’s fast, it’s flexible, and it’s always tuned for meaningful insights.
Why citizen surveys on pedestrian safety matter
Let’s be honest: if you’re not running citizen surveys on pedestrian safety, you’re missing out on essential local knowledge and powerful advocacy opportunities. Pedestrian safety isn’t just a side issue. It’s a global challenge—pedestrians account for approximately 22% of global road traffic deaths according to the World Health Organization [1]. In the United States alone, a staggering 7,388 pedestrians were killed and 60,577 injured in traffic crashes in 2021 [2].
Why does this matter for survey creation? Because understanding where people feel at risk—with input from those who walk your streets every day—can drive real change. Surveys empower you to:
Spot dangerous locations before tragedies occur
Understand public awareness and behaviors, like visibility practices and risky crossings
Reveal disconnects between policy, driver perception, and pedestrian experience
For example, 36% of pedestrians never or only sometimes wear high-visibility vests when walking near roads—even at night or in poor visibility [3]. If you don’t ask your citizens about these behaviors, you miss the chance to implement truly impactful safety campaigns and infrastructure improvements. Survey results directly feed into smarter decisions, prioritizing projects like sidewalk additions and lighting enhancements—both proven to matter (sidewalks alone can mean an 88% decrease in pedestrian injuries and fatalities [4]).
Bottom line: if you’re only relying on public meetings or secondhand reports, you’re not getting the whole picture. The importance of citizen feedback in pedestrian safety can’t be overstated.
What makes a good survey on pedestrian safety?
A solid survey on pedestrian safety leverages clear, unbiased questions and a conversational tone that invites honest, specific responses. When you keep the language approachable, citizens are willing to share not just what happened but also how it made them feel—and why it matters to them. Ensuring semantic precision in your survey will uncover not just what citizens observe, but what motivates their actions and concerns.
Let’s break down some good versus bad practices:
Bad practices | Good practices |
|---|---|
Leading or loaded questions: “Don’t you think the crosswalk is unsafe?” | Neutral, open-ended prompts: “How safe do you feel using the crosswalk at Main St.?” |
Yes/No only | Combining open-ended and scale questions for richer data |
Technical jargon: “Describe RRFB efficacy” | Everyday language: “Have you noticed the flashing crosswalk signs?” |
The real measure of a good survey is both the quantity and quality of responses. You don’t just want a high response rate—you want high-quality, thoughtful feedback that moves the needle toward safer streets.
What are the best question types for citizen surveys on pedestrian safety?
Effective citizen surveys about pedestrian safety use a mix of question types to capture a 360-degree view of what’s happening out there.
Open-ended questions let people add nuance—especially valuable when you want details, stories, or to uncover concerns you hadn’t thought about. Use these to capture unique perspectives and root causes.
What do you feel is the most dangerous spot for pedestrians in your neighborhood?
Can you describe a recent situation when you felt unsafe crossing the street?
Single-select multiple-choice questions are great for quantifying the basics and getting structured data you can compare at a glance. Use them when you need to benchmark issues or test the prevalence of specific behaviors.
When do you most often walk near traffic?
Morning (before 9am)
Afternoon (9am–5pm)
Evening (after 5pm)
I rarely walk near traffic
NPS (Net Promoter Score) question types are powerful for measuring overall satisfaction or perceived safety. Try an NPS approach when you want a simple benchmark—and remember, you can generate an NPS survey with Specific in seconds.
On a scale from 0 (very unsafe) to 10 (very safe), how likely are you to recommend walking in your neighborhood to a friend?
Followup questions to uncover "the why": The key to actionable insight is understanding not just what, but why. Follow-up questions are excellent for clarifying vague responses or exploring context ("Why do you feel that way?" or "What would have made you feel safer in that situation?").
What made you choose that safety rating?
Can you give an example of when you last wore high-visibility clothing?
Want to learn more about crafting the best questions? Check out our guide on the best questions for citizen survey about pedestrian safety for fresh ideas and deeper tips.
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey is exactly what it sounds like—a survey that feels like a real conversation, not a clinical form. Instead of bombarding citizens with endless grids, you engage them with dynamic, context-aware follow-ups. The key advantage: higher response rates, higher completion rates, and way better quality feedback. For example, if someone says, “I feel nervous crossing at night,” the survey (powered by AI) will gently probe with “What makes you feel unsafe during those times?”
Let’s quickly compare the experiences:
Manual surveys | AI-generated surveys |
|---|---|
Static, rigid questions | Adapts on the fly |
Why use AI for citizen surveys? Because time matters. With an AI survey example, you can go from idea to expert-crafted, followup-ready survey in 30 seconds. It’s not just about speed—AI surveys are far more adaptive and can gather insights that would otherwise require lengthy interviews. If you want a seamless, best-in-class user experience, Specific’s conversational surveys deliver the goods—engaging for both creators and respondents alike.
If you want to dive deeper into survey creation methods, see our article on survey analysis and creation.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions are where the magic happens, and Specific’s conversational AI takes this further than any static form can. With automated AI follow-up questions (see how it works here), the system asks contextually smart follow-ups—just like an expert researcher—to really nail down the “why” behind every answer. Imagine relying on one-off responses; you’re left guessing about people’s motivations. With automated follow-ups, you skip the messy back-and-forth of delayed emails and jump right into actionable clarity.
Citizen: “Sometimes I feel unsafe.”
AI follow-up: “Could you share what made you feel unsafe? Was it lighting, traffic speed, or something else?”
How many followups to ask? In most surveys, 2–3 follow-ups per key topic are enough. You don’t need to overdo it—Specific even lets you configure the system to stop as soon as you’ve collected the info you need, so respondents never feel interrogated.
This makes it a conversational survey: Each follow-up flows naturally, turning static surveys into dialogues where citizens share stories and specific details (often things a simple checkbox would never uncover).
AI survey response analysis: Surveys with lots of open-ended feedback? No problem. With Specific, it’s easy to analyze responses using AI chat and summaries—see our in-depth guide to AI survey response analysis for how it works, even with messy real-world feedback.
These automated followups are a new way to collect feedback—try generating a survey and experience the difference firsthand.
See this pedestrian safety survey example now
Don’t wait—see how a conversational, AI-powered survey can reveal hidden risks and make your streets safer. Create your own survey today and experience the fastest, smartest way to get real insights that drive results.