Crosswalk Research Articles

Application of Title 45, Chapter 22 of the Laws of 2009 Relating to Supporting Facilities for the Implementation of Traffic and Road Transportation

Road traffic and transit safety, security, order, and smoothness depend on supporting facilities and infrastructure. This empirical study analyses and explains the execution of Article 45 of Law Number 22 of 2009 on supporting facilities for commuters and drivers in Prabumulih City and its barriers. Based on Study and discussion, Article 45 of Law Number 22 of 2009 addressing supporting facilities for commuters and drivers in Prabumulih city is still inedequate due to the lack of bicycle lanes and disabled facilities. Streets merchant still misuse walkways. The implementation of Article 45 of Law number 22 of 2009 in Prabumulih City is hindered by inedequate supporting facilities and infrastructure due to the lack of funds for transportation infrastructure, weak enforcement against misuse of sidewalks into street vendors; people crossing the road without using zebra cross, or overpasses, and the bus stop not being used for passenger boarding and embarkation.

Public Transport Prioritization and Descriptive Criteria-Based Urban Sections Classification on Arterial Streets

The present paper is aimed at improving minimization methods in traffic flows, particularly reducing the costs of civil transportation through sections of the transport network by giving priority to public transport in densely developed areas. In cities with a radial and radial–circular planning scheme of the road network, where arterial traffic flows converge in the central part, the challenge of street congestion with traffic often arises. As a result, delays of all types of vehicles increase, which causes excessive travel time for users of private and public transport. In this regard, it is proposed to divide the sections of the transport network into eight types based on their geometric parameters and traffic conditions. This differentiation of sections improves the existing methods for determining the spatial delay of traffic flows on sections of the transport network with different parameters. It was achieved by considering the duration of vehicles passing signalized intersections and pedestrian crosswalks and the sections of streets between them, while simultaneously recording the duration of public transport movement, as well as the time they spend at stopping points, using GPS receivers. The results of onsite monitoring and further computations revealed that there are particular urban sections with specific, different distances between adjacent stop lines that are critical for public transport operation. Furthermore, based on the delay criterion, there were three different passage modes proposed to improve the efficiency of the traffic.

Characterizing zebra crossing zones using LiDAR data

AbstractLight detection and ranging (LiDAR) scanning in urban environments leads to accurate and dense three‐dimensional point clouds where the different elements in the scene can be precisely characterized. In this paper, two LiDAR‐based algorithms that complement each other are proposed. The first one is a novel profiling method robust to noise and obstacles. It accurately characterizes the curvature, the slope, the height of the sidewalks, obstacles, and defects such as potholes. It was effective for 48 of 49 detected zebra crossings, even in the presence of pedestrians or vehicles in the crossing zone. The second one is a detailed quantitative summary of the state of the zebra crossing. It contains information about the location, the geometry, and the road marking. Coarse grain statistics are more prone to obstacle‐related errors and are only fully reliable for 18 zebra crossings free from significant obstacles. However, all the anomalous statistics can be analyzed by looking at the associated profiles. The results can help in the maintenance of urban roads. More specifically, they can be used to improve the quality and safety of pedestrian routes.

A Decision Support System for the safety evaluation of urban pedestrian crossings

This paper proposes an innovative methodology, based on a Decision Support Systems, for the safety evaluation of pedestrian crossings without traffic lights in urban neighborhood areas. It provides an on-site inspection performed using ad-hoc data check lists, and it allows to assign a safety rate to the pedestrian crossing, in order to define a priority list of interventions and to suggest which features need to be improved. This new approach can be useful and easy to use for public administration managers and local governances, when they need to allocate limited financial resources to several pedestrian crossings. It has been applied to 10 pedestrian crossings on two roads in the urban area of Bologna and the resulted ranking list has been used by the Municipality of Bologna in its Urban Road Safety Plan 2016-2019.

Behavior of pedestrians when using a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights

Reducing the number of road accidents and the number of fatalities involving pedestrians remains a topical topic in Poland and European Union countries. It should be noted that the last 10 years have seen an increase in the use of electrical devices by pedestrians or cyclists, which may affect the behavior of pedestrians crossing the road. Undoubtedly, such behavior may lead to an increase in road accidents involving pedestrians, in particular when crossing pedestrian crossings. In order to investigate this problem, surveys were carried out on a group of 820 people and observational studies on 4 selected pedestrian crossings. Observational studies were conducted at fixed times on different days of the week. Particular attention was paid to whether pedestrians use a mobile phone when crossing a pedestrian crossing. The main purpose of the article is to draw attention to the problem of distraction of pedestrians by telephones. Undoubtedly, it should be emphasized that this type of behavior is very dangerous and can cause a road accident, because the pedestrian focuses his attention on the mobile phone and not on the surroundings. Surveys have shown that 15% of respondents always use their mobile phone when crossing a pedestrian crossing. However, experimental studies have shown that approximately 21% of pedestrians crossing pedestrian crossings use a mobile phone.

Urban environment harmonious development in the pedestrian crossings’ organization process in Yerevan

From the beginning of the 20th century to the present day, the intensively developing transport system in the world causes new problems in the organization of the architectural environment. The invasion of vehicles into the urban environment brought about the need for new approaches due to the modern architectural organization of the spatial environment with the requirement to organize conditions that meet the comfort, safety and modern needs of human life activity. The subject of the study is the new problems generated by the rapidly developing transport system in the issue of comfortable life of the pedestrians in the architectural environment. Vehicles, especially in urban settlements, occupying huge territories, cause serious difficulties in the movement of pedestrians. As a result, regulated ground and underground crossings have become the main route of interchange in the city of Yerevan, which today need new approaches. The purpose of the article is to outline new approaches to improving the spatial environment aimed at improving the pedestrian-transportation relationship.

A Novel Architecture for the Smart Pedestrian Crossing in Cities Using IoT‐Based Approach

Pedestrian crossings have also been highlighted as one of the most dangerous locations in the transportation field. Because people and vehicles share the road, a crosswalk improves the road’s efficiency in a densely populated region. However, as the population grows, more accidents and serious injuries occur, and as a result, nationalities are attempting to reduce these incidents through marketing and legal fines. Various architectures and developmental models have been proposed by authors focusing on the safeguarding of pedestrians crossing the intersections and vehicles passing by. Few proposed machine learning and deep learning‐based solutions to the pedestrian lanes; others provided an Internet of Things‐ (IoT‐) based solution to the situation. Various challenges are left unresolved, such as evidence recording, image capturing, and recognition in case of an emergency. In the proposed scenario, an IoT‐based technology is utilized to assist the vehicles passing by to act over the signals depicted as a red light focusing on a real‐time architecture. The proposed system will be mounted along the roadside at the traffic light pole. The system comprises various refined quality components, such as a gesture control module, High Definition camera module, etc. Based on the decision drawn from the gesture module, a specific signal will be displayed with the help of a traffic light to assist the vehicles passing by to safeguard the people crossing the proposed smart pedestrian crossing.

Simulation of pedestrian and cyclist underpass to reduce risky behaviour and traffic violations - a case study level crossing Trnava in Croatia

Level crossing accidents are among the most common accidents in rail transport. Accidents between trains and pedestrians often end in serious injury or death. Several key factors contributing to the occurrence of train-pedestrian accidents are human error (violation of laws), poor visibility, inadequate infrastructure, etc. One of the aims of this study is to analyse the problem of frequent illegal pedestrian and cyclist crossings at the Trnava level crossing in Croatia. Data was collected through observations and camera recordings of illegal pedestrian and cyclist crossings (traffic violations). Frequent train traffic on the double-track international and suburban railway line M102 (Zagreb Glavni kolodvor - Dugo Selo) leads to long closing times of the level crossing. The problem is exacerbated by the high volume of pedestrian and cyclist traffic, which makes the Trnava level crossing a high-risk location for accidents. Data collected on site (at the Trnava level crossing) is used to create a simulation of a pedestrian and cyclist underpass using PTV Vissim software and to investigate the effectiveness of the underpass as a solution to reduce risky behaviour by level crossing users at the Trnava level crossing. The result of implementing of the underpass for pedestrians and cyclists is a complete separation of non-motorised traffic and rail traffic, which significantly reduces traffic violations and insures safe movement of level crossing users.

Pedestrian Behavior in Shared Spaces With Autonomous Vehicles: An Integrated Framework and Review

Pedestrians will increasingly have to share their space with autonomous vehicles (AVs), at pedestrian crossings, and in urban shared spaces where segregation between pedestrians and vehicles is minimized. This article proposes an integrative framework to analyze pedestrian behavior in shared spaces with AVs. Following the “perception-cognition-action” cycle, the proposed framework breaks down pedestrian behavior into 3 parts: 1. Sensation and Perception; 2. Emotion and Cognition; 3. Action and Communication. The framework is used to review and synthesize current knowledge on pedestrian behavior in urban shared spaces. Studies involving pedestrians in shared environments with AVs are limited. Since an AV can be seen as a hybrid of a conventional car and a mobile robot, this review includes studies on pedestrian behavior with conventional cars and with mobile robots as well as with AVs. Examining pedestrian behavior in these three situations of interaction allows us to make assumptions about how humans will behave in sharing their urban spaces with AVs. The reviewed interactions reveal that pedestrians have diverse and imperfect behaviors. AVs must consider this variety of behaviors and follow socially compliant rules in order to be understood and accepted by pedestrians. Perspectives for AVs in shared spaces and research directions are also identified.

Safety roads: the analysis of driving behaviour and the effects on the infrastructural design

Road design should ensure the correct behaviour of drivers in terms of speed and level of attention. Nevertheless, in some cases users are not able to visualize the carriageway enough correctly, owing to the misled road layout or the loss of visibility.In this research, road safety management was assessed with the driving and visual behaviour of users, considering the impact of different configurations of pedestrian crossings and road signs in order to reduce accidents. Even if users focus their attention on the zebra crossing (60%) and the vertical sign (24%), 16% of them have had no perception of the pedestrian crossings. This result shows how pedestrian crossings represent critical points that could compromise the safety of vulnerable users also in relation to speed. In fact, driving behaviour highlights 50 km/h of the average speed at 100 meters before the crosswalk, which allows having a too short time to stop the vehicle in safety. Moreover, the maximum speed underlines that users drive beyond the limit imposed by the road's rules. It is thus necessary to require the implementation of road infrastructure so as to modify the driving behaviour. Starting from the Road Safety Review, it was then possible to detect the critical issues and correlate a visual and kinematic analysis so as to intervene accurately.

Monitoring speed variation and pedestrian crossing distraction in Enna (Sicily) during different pandemic phases

The growing phenomenon of teleworking and the recent covid-19 pandemic have caused the volumes of pedestrians who routinely cross the city to change since March 2020. This change may have resulted in further damage to the health of pedestrians due to limited activity. Some recent studies point to slight changes in walking speed and stride length compared to changes in the number of steps, these changes were consistently seen during the state of emergency, they showed that people tried to walk faster in their outdoor walking. For the safety of pedestrians, it is necessary to analyse not only the change in speed when crossing but also the potential factors influencing it. These factors include user-related variables (gender, age, weight) and variables related to potential distractors such as smartphone use or walking in groups. The results of measurements made during the pandemic period (4 different phases) in pedestrian traffic in the zebra crossing area are also presented. The research was conducted in a zebra crossing area located in a small town in Sicily (Enna) frequently used by workers, students and elderly people. The results showed that during the first and second pandemic phases (May to October 2021) there were significant changes in the way of moving and the speed of pedestrians at crossings. The same crossings were also examined in the late autumn of 2021 (third and fourth pandemic phases) and the data show further changes in pedestrian behaviour. The data collected can help to improve safety in the area of pedestrian crossings through infrastructural actions or educational programmes and campaigns, especially among vulnerable groups of pedestrians.

Оцінка ергономічної стійкості транспортного потоку на дільницях дорожньої мережі. Ідентифікація математичної моделі

The paper discusses the structure of the mathematical model featuring assessment of the ergonomic stability of the traffic flow in various sections of the road network under the influence of external disturbances, which is the result of structural identification. The mathematical model differs from the known ones in that it takes into account the dynamics of the process development. In addition to the gradients of speed and density of traffic flows, the research takes into account the dynamic properties of vehicles and the multi-lane road network, as well as the time of delays at pedestrian crossings and traffic lights. The dynamic properties of the traffic flow are described with a third-order differential equation. The mathematical model is parametrically identified; expressions for determining the gains and time constants included in the differential equation are obtained. The input parameters impacting and affecting the stability of the traffic flow are substantiated – these are the gradients of the density and speed of the flow. The parameters characterizing the response of the traffic flow to disturbances are substantiated – these are time constants, the physical meaning of which is the inertia of all links included in the model. The study presents expressions for determining the gains and time constants included in the differential equation. The gain coefficient K1 characterizes the degree of influence of the density of the traffic flow on the reaction time of the driver. The gain coefficient K2 characterizes the influence of the degree of dynamism of the traffic flow on the time of delays during movement and loss of stability. The gain coefficient K3 characterizes the degree of influence of a change in the traffic situation on the delay time when moving in the stream and loss of stability. The value of the time constant T1 characterizes the inertia of the driver depending on the density and intensity of the traffic flow. The value of the time constant T2 characterizes the inertia of the car and is expressed in the ability to maneuver. The value of the time constant T3 characterizes the inertia of changing the traffic situation.

Leading Pedestrian Intervals at Urban Crosswalks: Effects on Safety for Travelers Who Are Blind

Introduction: The use of leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs) creates safer street crossings for typical pedestrians, giving them a head-start into the crosswalk. The LPI, however, delays the onset of the traditional traffic sound cue that pedestrians who are blind use to initiate crossing streets. LPIs can create situations where pedestrians who are blind will frequently begin or end crossings or both against the pedestrian signal. Methods: The researchers conducted two sets of observations in an urban environment. They measured the seconds from the initiation of the vehicular circular green signal to the front of the first vehicle passing through the center of the intersection (n = 40) to calculate the average driver's delay. Pedestrians who are blind, to confirm a straight-through surge of parallel traffic (i.e. not turning vehicles), listen for a vehicle to reach the roadway center to know it is the appropriate time to initiate a crossing. In the second set of observations (n = 40), the researchers recorded the length of the Walk, Flashing Don’t Walk, and LPI to calculate average impacts on crossing. Results: The average time for vehicles to reach the center of the intersection was 6.0 s. When there was an LPI, on average the clearance for pedestrians after reaching the far corner was 0.49 s; for Walk intervals, there was an average of 3.35 s margin of time to begin crossing. Discussion: These observational studies verify the crossing latencies for pedestrians who are blind. At crosswalks with LPI, pedestrians can be expected to cross after the Walk sign has expired 15 to 38% of the time and end their crossing 40 to 82% of the time when the visual display says Don’t Walk. Implications for Practitioners: Orientation and mobility specialists should instruct students on how to identify intersections with LPI to assist in decision making. Traffic management remediation is the installation of an accessible pedestrian signal (APS); specialists should advocate for the installation of APS where LPIs are implemented and teach students how to use APS.

Control and allocation at an intersection with traffic lights

Managing road infrastructure in highly urbanized areas during the Industry 4.0 era poses a significant technological challenge for traffic engineers. Steadily growing traffic volume, both of motor vehicles and pedestrians, cyclists or scooters, necessitates the development of advanced traffic control algorithms and systems. Improvement of the efficiency and capacity of intersections without any intervention into the physical structure of roadways is one of the two aspects of today's traffic engineering. In this paper, however, emphasis is placed on the aspect of coordination of conflicting flows of motorized and pedestrian traffic. Consideration is given to ensuring that each traffic light phase at an intersection is maximally utilized while maintaining the required safety factor. The empirical part of the study consists in identifying inefficiencies in the traffic light cycle. The analysis of traffic phases has revealed that there were certain periods in the cycle during which pedestrians were given the right of way while, in fact, it was not necessary. The study proposes a solution to optimize the green signal timing for conflicting vehicular and pedestrian flows in real-time. By eliminating delays in traffic signal phases as a result of not having to give a green signal for pedestrians, the proposed solution will improve the efficiency of urban networks with respect to an aspect whose potential has not been exploited so far. Coordination and adaptation of each light phase to the most effective extent is a feasible answer to the needs and requirements of modern urban areas.

THE ROLE OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND ISSUES RELATED TO THE EFFICIENCY OF 3D PEDESTRIAN STREET CROSSING

Innovation technologies play an increasing and significant role in all areas of economy and human life. Increasing the efficiency of the functioning of vehicles on Artsakh roads, the level of high accident rate, namely collisions with pedestrians, create serious unrest. Therefore, unusual zebra crossings are created and applied to the asphalt surface using 3D technology that turns ordinary urban details into art objects and looks like concrete blocks hanging over the road and casting a shadow on it, they are also very visible from afar. It is this factor that will force vehicle drivers to slow down in advance in order to let pedestrians through.

Дослідження математичної моделі стійкості транспортного потоку на ділянках дорожньої мережі міста

The paper presents the results of the research of the mathematical model of the stability of the traffic flow on the sections of the city's street and road network when external factors change. Based on the modeling results, it is proposed to divide all factors affecting the stability of the traffic flow into three groups. The first group of factors characterizes the construction of the vehicle: the length of the vehicle, the weight of the vehicle, the power of the engine. The second group of factors is called time factors, which take into account: the driver's reaction time to a change in the road situation; time for a maneuver that can be used by the car in case of a change in the road situation; the total time of delays while driving along the route. The third group of factors takes into account the peculiarities of the construction of the infrastructure of the road environment. Such factors include: the number of traffic lanes on the roadway; the number of pedestrian crossings and traffic lights. Based on the results of modeling, a rating of factors affecting the amount of traffic flow stability margin is presented. The simulation results proved that, in the first place, the impact on the loss of stability of the traffic flow is the time for the maneuver that the car can use in the event of a change in the road situation and the number of pedestrian crossings and traffic lights on the controlled section of the road. When the listed factors change, the robustness criterion has minimal values. In second place in terms of influence on is a group of factors that take into account the driver's reaction time to a change in the road situation and the number of traffic lanes on the roadway. In third place is a group of factors that take into account the length of the car and the weight of the car. It is proved that the mathematical model of traffic flow stability has limitations regarding its application. The limitations are related to the definition of the initial data for the simulation. It is necessary to determine the flow density on the controlled section of the road network. In addition, statistically determined values are the reaction time of drivers to a change in the road situation and the presence of pedestrian crossings and traffic lights on the controlled section of the road.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ АНАЛИЗА АВАРИЙНОСТИ С УЧАСТИЕМ ПЕШЕХОДОВ НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ БЕЛГОРОДСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

A detailed analysis of traffic accidents involving pedestrians for 2018-2022 was made. in the Belgorod region. The distribution of collisions with pedestrians was revealed by days of the week, by months, by the place of the incident, by the types of pedestrian crossings. The main offenses of drivers and pedestrians are indicated, as a result of which a traffic accident occurs. Listed preventive organizational and technical measures to improve the safety of pedestrians.

Improving the Performance of Traffic Signal Control at Mid-block Pedestrian Crossings

Improving the Performance of Traffic Signal Control at Mid-block Pedestrian Crossings

Studying pedestrian flows to improve the Rostov-on-Don’s intelligent transport system

The study included survey of signal-controlled pedestrian crossings throughout the whole city of Rostov-on-Don, a geoinformation model was built, field surveys of pedestrian traffic intensity at signal-controlled pedestrian crossings were conducted in order to identify zones of highest concentration of pedestrian flows, as well as to develop the city’s Intelligent Transport System (ITS) and mitigate conflict situations at the city’s crossings.

РАЗРАБОТКАГЕОИНФОРМАЦИОННОЙ БАЗЫ ПЕШЕХОДНЫХ ПОТОКОВ В РОСТОВСКОЙ АГЛОМЕРАЦИИ

Across the entire territory of the Rostov agglomeration, a survey of regulated pedestrian crossings was carried out, field surveys of the intensity of pedestrian traffic at regulated pedestrian crossings were carried out in order to identify places of concentration of maximum pedestrian flows for the development of an intelligent transport system (ITS), to reduce conflict situations at city intersections, and a geoinformation base was developed.