Modeling Speed and Capacity Estimation at Urban Midblock Sections under the Influence of Crossing Pedestrians

Abstract

Pedestrian crossing at undesignated midblock locations is a prevalent phenomenon in developing countries like India that adversely affects the traffic performance of such sections. The present study aims to determine the effect of such pedestrian crossings on traffic characteristics like vehicular speed and capacity of the section. Data was collected on six-lane urban arterial midblock sections in six different metropolitan cities in India. Fifteen such sections were selected, with and without the presence of crossing pedestrians, and named base and friction sections, respectively. Speed models were developed for the sections, and from the speed models, the capacity of base and friction sections was estimated with varying pedestrian crossflow. The model capacity values were further validated by collecting field data at six more sections—three base sections and three friction sections. The model capacity values were in good agreement with the field capacity values, with mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) values less than 6% for both data sets, that is, for base and friction sections, respectively.