Developing guidelines for use of pedestrian countdown traffic signals.

Details

• Creators:
  Abu-Lebdeh, Ghassan ; Engle, John R. ; Maleck, Thomas L.
• Corporate Creators:
  Michigan State University. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Pedestrian signs
  • Flashing traffic signals
  • Signalized intersections
  • Behavior
  • Crosswalks
  • Before and after studies
  • Pedestrian movement
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Michigan
• Corporate Publisher:
  Michigan. Dept. of Transportation
• Abstract:
  Pedestrians' behavior and understanding of pedestrian signal displays of traditional and countdown pedestrian signals (CDPS) were studied at 16 intersections throughout the State of Michigan. A before-and-after evaluation was conducted. The objective of the study was to evaluate pedestrian behavior vis-a-vis CDPS with the ultimate goal of developing guidelines for use of these signals. The crossing behavior of over 33,000 pedestrians was observed. The aggregated data from all 16 intersections revealed that: (1) pedestrians overwhelmingly (91%) liked the CDPS, (2) over 80% of the surveyed pedestrians correctly understood the meaning of the countdown signal, (3) younger adult pedestrians appeared to be using the time displays of not only their own crosswalk but others as well to determine if they could cross safely, and in the process appeared to have become less compliant after the CDPS were installed, (4) the solid Walk symbol was not correctly understood by a majority of the surveyed pedestrians (70% and 80%, respectively), and (6) for a given number of lanes yet to be crossed before the solid Don't Walk appeared, there were fewer such pedestrians after the CDPS were installed. Guidelines for installation of CDPS are proposed based on information assembled from video recordings and observations of field crews.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/26779/dot_26779_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.01 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:b773a67b2837fd2968cce4d4c66f00428a55a71f3d30ae132dc59961d101fbde