01516236

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2463-08

The policy of the New York City Department of Transportation on the use of pedestrian crossing speeds is intended to provide sufficient time for pedestrians to cross the street and, thus, to support pedestrian safety at signalized intersections. This policy adheres to current guidelines provided in the Highway Capacity Manual 2010 and the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which generally recommend the use of a fixed walking speed; however, pedestrian walking speeds at crosswalks vary depending on pedestrian density. As crosswalks become more crowded, pedestrian walking speeds become slower. The purpose of the study described in this paper, therefore, was to identify the need for and recommend a guideline for dynamic pedestrian walking speeds during pedestrian clearance intervals that fluctuated on the basis of how pedestrians behaved in crosswalks with various pedestrian densities. Such control could help provide appropriate pedestrian clearance intervals at crosswalks with distinctively high densities. This study modeled the relationships between pedestrian walking speeds and densities and between speeds and the proportions of pedestrian flows by direction at signalized intersections with heavy pedestrian volumes, as in central business district locations in New York City. On the basis of the relationships analyzed, speed and density levels were identified as measures of safety and congestion levels. Furthermore, the study showed that pedestrian crossing speeds within high-density crosswalks were affected by opposing pedestrian flows.

01556287

14-5295

English

pp 62–69

2014

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309295574

Print

Figures (4) ; References (8) ; Tables (4)

Central business districts; Guidelines; Mathematical models; Pedestrian clearance interval (Traffic signals); Pedestrian density; Pedestrian movement; Pedestrian safety; Signalized intersections; Speed

New York (New York)

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 27 2014 3:51PM

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