Pedestrian Waiting Delay at Signalized Midblock Crosswalks under Mixed Traffic Conditions

Abstract

This study proposes a new approach for measuring field pedestrian waiting delay and developed a new pedestrian waiting delay model for signalized midblock crosswalks under mixed traffic conditions. Eight signalized midblock crosswalks were selected in the southern part of India, and data were collected using videographic technique. Pedestrian characteristics, cycle time, and phase lengths were extracted using frame-by-frame extraction technique with a least count of 0.03 s. In the current study, field pedestrian waiting delay was measured by plotting queue length against cycle time. The proposed approach was validated using the conventional approach for measuring field waiting delay. A new pedestrian waiting delay model was developed for signalized midblock crosswalks under mixed traffic conditions. Two new coefficients, i.e., the coefficient of nonuniform arrival rate (Δ1) and the coefficient of noncompliance behavior (Δ2), were incorporated into the existing Webster delay model. The former is modeled using regression analysis, and the latter is calculated as the proportion of violators. The proposed pedestrian waiting delay model was validated with the field waiting delay. The proposed new approach for measuring field waiting delay had an error of 5% compared with the conventional approach for measuring waiting delay. Hence the proposed approach for measuring pedestrian waiting can replace the conventional method for measuring field waiting delay because the new method minimizes the data extraction time. The proposed pedestrian delay model was found to be accurate in estimating the pedestrian waiting delay at signalized midblock crosswalks. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) value of the new pedestrian waiting delay was found to be less than 12%. The proposed waiting delay model can be used to define the level of service (LOS) at signalized midblock crosswalks, and will aid traffic engineers and urban planners in improving pedestrian facilities and safety. This paper presents a new approach for measuring field waiting delay and a new pedestrian waiting delay model that addresses the nonuniform and noncompliance behavior of pedestrians at signalized midblock crosswalks under mixed traffic conditions. The proposed methodology of field waiting delay minimizes the data extraction time and effort required to measure the field waiting delay. This method eliminates tracing individual pedestrian’s arrivals and departures for the calculation of field waiting delay. The average pedestrian waiting delay is computed using the pedestrian queue length calculated for every subphase interval i. The researchers and other academicians who are working on pedestrian safety and delay models can use the proposed methodology to measure the actual field waiting delay of pedestrians. The time and supervision required for the pedestrian data extraction by the proposed method are comparatively less than those of the conventional method. In addition to the new field waiting delay technique, a new pedestrian waiting delay model is proposed in this. The new waiting delay model considers the conditions of signalized midblock crosswalks by addressing the longer duration of the pedestrian red phase and the nonuniform arrival pattern and noncompliance behavior of pedestrians. The proposed method estimates pedestrian waiting delay accurately for signalized midblock crosswalk conditions. It can be a useful tool for decision makers and planners for assessing the conditions of signalized midblock facilities and improving them to enhance the safety of pedestrians.