Bicyclist Intersection Crossing Times

Abstract

In support of efforts to improve traffic signal timing to accommodate bicyclists’ needs, observations were made of the timing of bicyclists’ intersection crossing maneuvers. Video recordings were made of bicyclists’ crossings and the video images were processed to extract the bicyclists’ trajectories. These trajectories were synchronized with video images of the traffic signals so that the timing of the bicyclists’ maneuvers could be determined relative to the signal phases. The processed data yielded cumulative distributions of the crossing speeds of bicyclists who did not have to stop at the intersection and the start-up times and final crossing speeds of the bicyclists who had to cross from a standing start. A unique feature of these data is the timing information relative to the traffic signal, which is used to define recommended signal times to permit most bicyclists to cross wide arterial intersections safely.