Evaluation of Usability toward Safer Use of Road-Crossing Facilities

Abstract

Due to prioritization of growing automobile traffics over a variety of other road users, road facilities and infrastructures have often disregarded the needs of non-motorized transport users. It is often observed that structural problems among accessibility, safety, and usability cause serious situations in which inappropriate road facilities jeopardize traffic safety of pedestrians and cyclists. This paper takes road-crossing facilities as typical examples of the most problematic facilities, and elucidates the complicated structure of problems by applying the new concept of social usability. Finally, the paper proposes a holistic framework on social usability improvement of road-crossing facilities including road space management and travel speed management.