THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES AT SIGNAL CONTROLLED JUNCTIONS

This Paper considers the provision and operation of facilities which a re installed with the objective of assisting pedestrians to cross the road at signal controlled junctions. In the UK traffic signals at junc tions have traditionally been installed primarily to resolve vehicle c onflicts and have been designed for maximum vehicle capacity and minim um vehicle delay. Current practice in the UK and in several overseas c ountries is considered. The Paper describes a study of pedestrian beha viour at signal controlled junctions and the development of a simulati on program which models pedestrian and vehicle behaviour for a range o f pedestrian facilities and operating strategies. The model is applied to demonstrate variations in pedestrian and vehicle mean delay corres ponding to different techniques for assisting pedestrians at signal co ntrolled junctions. The results confirm that, with current practice, p edestrian signals at junctions in the UK usually increase both vehicle and pedestrian delay. The safety implications of pedestrian signals a t junctions are briefly reviewed. Alternative policies for the provisi on and operation of pedestrian signals at signal controlled junctions are considered. It is concluded that there is a case for a change in p olicy to give increased weighting to pedestrian requirements and hence improve pedestrian amenity at signal controlled junctions.