Recently, walking has gained attention as an environmentally and economically sustainable transportation mode. While, the increased focus on pedestrians has led to infrastructure and safety related improvements, little attention has been paid to optimizing the transportation system for their benefit. This paper summarizes the findings of a pilot study that was designed to explore strategies for reducing pedestrian delay at signalized intersections. The two chosen study locations included one half-signal and a full signalized intersection in Portland, Oregon. While the objective of these strategies was to enable the traffic signal to be more responsive to pedestrian needs, the broader objective is to develop settings that can be used at other locations. Changes to signal timing parameters such as the mode of signal operation and the permissive length were studied at the two locations, and the resulting effects on pedestrian delay were quantified. Setting a coordinated signal free during the off-peak traffic periods and increasing the permissive length have both resulted in decreasing pedestrian delay. The techniques described in this paper are also applicable for signalized intersections where low volume side streets intersect high volume major arterials. The findings from this study will also inform practitioners in determining treatments that are consistent with the policies of their agency.
↧