An-Najah Staff

Crosswalk geometry and configuration at signalized intersections directly affect the safety, cycle length and resulting delays for all users. Optimizing crosswalk configurations including width, position and angle is an important concern to improve the overall performance of signalized intersections. Quantifying the effect of bi-directional flow and crosswalk width on pedestrian walking speed and crossing time at signalized crosswalks is a prerequisite for improving the geometric design and configuration of signalized crosswalks. Pedestrian crossing time is basically a function of crosswalk length and walking speed. However when pedestrian demand increases at both sides of the crosswalk, crossing time increases due to interaction between conflicting pedestrian flows.  A variety of methods have been developed for determining appropriate pedestrian crossing times at signalized intersections. Although many of these methods have useful applications, most of them have shortcomings when considering the effects of bi-directional flow on crossing time. No consideration is given to deceleration or reduction in walking speed that results from the interaction between the conflicting flows. In this study, a new methodology is proposed to model pedestrian crossing time as a function of pedestrian demand, directional split, and crosswalk width, which is based on aerodynamic drag theory.