Simulation-Based Performance Evaluation for Intelligent Midblock Pedestrian Crossing in Urban Areas

Abstract

The midblock pedestrian crossing is the conflict between pedestrians and vehicles that create frequent traffic jams and accidents, especially the pedestrian crossing on the road in the city. Currently, an intelligent transportation system, is widely applied in traffic management and road network safety, both in Thailand and abroad. Intelligent Pedestrian Crossing is a pedestrian crossing that uses automated technology to provide pedestrians and drivers convenience and safety. It detects the traffic flow of vehicles entering the crossing and the movement of pedestrians crossing the road, controls the timing of the traffic light on pedestrians and vehicles, and adjusts the pedestrian traffic light's timing following the usage of the pedestrian crossing. This research aimed to create a PTV Vissim microscopic traffic simulation to assess the performance of intelligent pedestrian crossing and compare their performance against zebra crossing, push-button traffic crossings, and operator-controlled crossings. The study results find that various midblock pedestrian crossing types had different service efficiency in pedestrians and vehicles' traffic conditions. The pedestrian crossing traffic model can develop a criterion for determining intelligent pedestrian midblock crossing patterns on road sections suitable for various local and urban traffic conditions on urban road networks.