Abstract
This paper reports the results of a study to understand the preferences of pedestrians towards using different types of road crossing facilities. A preliminary qualitative study found that people’s perceptions about crossing facilities are shaped by aspects such as safety, convenience, crossing time, accessibility, and personal security. The main quantitative study consisted of a stated preference survey implemented in three neighbourhoods in English cities near busy roads. Participants were first asked to indicate how comfortable they felt using different types of crossing facilities. Footbridges and underpasses were systematically rated below signalised crossings. Participants were then asked to choose between walking different additional times to use certain types of crossing facility or avoid crossing the road altogether. The analysis of the choices using a mixed logit model found that on average participants are willing to walk an additional 2.4 and 5.3 min to use a straight signalised crossing and avoid using footbridges and underpasses, respectively. Women and older participants were willing to walk longer additional times to avoid those facilities. Participants only avoid crossing the road if the additional time to use straight signalised crossings is at least 20.9 min. The estimated values for the willingness to walk were slightly smaller when using a conditional logit model. The study provides information that is useful for policy decisions about the frequency and the type of pedestrian facilities provided to cross busy roads.
Highlights
The major shift from non-motorised to motorised forms of urban transport that occurred during the 20th century throughout the world has led to traffic dominance of urban streets
This paper has estimated preferences for the use of different types of road crossing facilities relating to busy roads in three urban areas, using a stated preference survey
The modelling of the choices among different alternatives for crossing facilities and walking time to access them revealed that, on average, participants choose footbridges and underpasses only if these facilities are nearer than straight signalised crossings, there are significant variations according to gender, age, and trip purpose
Summary
The major shift from non-motorised to motorised forms of urban transport that occurred during the 20th century throughout the world has led to traffic dominance of urban streets. The construction or improvement of pedestrian crossing facilities often become the main alternative to mitigate the impacts of roads on pedestrians, when solutions such as reducing traffic levels or lowering speed limits meet with social and political resistance due to their impact on the accessibility of users of private and public motorised transport. The information collected at that stage informed the design of the main stage, a stated preference survey of residents from the catchment areas of three busy roads in England (in London, Birmingham, and Southend-on-Sea), that were perceived to lack a sufficient number of pedestrian crossing facilities. This paper reports the results of two exercises included in this survey: one where participants rated four different types of crossing facilities, and another where they chose between different alternative crossing facilities and varying walking times to access them.
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