Integrating Visibility, Parking Restriction, and Driver's Field View for Enhancing Pedestrian Crossing Safety

Abstract

Pedestrians at a marked but unsignalized pedestrian crossing (Ped-Xing) must be made visible to drivers in the approaching traffic at a sufficient distance away from the crossing, and this distance is needed for stopping a vehicle before the leading Ped-Xing edge to avoid a potential traffic collision. In this paper, an exact analytic framework is established to integrate driver's field view, driver's perception-reaction, lighting condition, and parking restriction at a Ped-Xing for enhancing traffic operational safety. The size of the no parking zone by the Ped-Xing is determined exactly using equations derived from this framework. Additionally, this study sheds the light on mid-block Ped-Xing installation, which should be discouraged if parking is permitted alongside a street. Furthermore, additional visibility improvement measures at the unsignalized Ped-Xings may be needed for enhancing safe traffic operations at the crossings.