Pedestrian crossing facilities are needed when waiting-time for the pedestrian becomes too long. This need arises to avoid risk taking behaviour by pedestrians who have become tired of waiting. The waiting time of a pedestrian depends on the time needed by him to cross the street and the availability of gaps of sufficient time interval before the next vehicle arrives. Apart from waiting-time the pedestrian must have sufficient sight length to detect oncoming traffic. Also, he must be visible to the oncoming driver. The length of both distances (sight- and visibility distance) depends on the vehicle speed and the time the pedestrian needs to cross the street. In all the need for a crossing facility depends on: (1) the time a pedestrian needs to cross a street: (a) the road- or lane-width, (b) the walking speed of the pedestrian (age, handicap etc), (c) the local car-parking facilities; (2) the available gap-length between cars: (a) vehicle intensity, (b) vehicle arrival distribution; (3) vehicle speed; (4) surroundings and local activities. In this paper a system is presented to deal with the aspects mentioned above and with methods of developing criteria for the installation of pedestrian crossing facilities. For the design of facilities only some examples are presented. Further information can be obtained from the "handboek aanbevelingen voor stedelijke verkeersvoorzieningen" as published by svt or from the "handboek 30 km/u regeling" as published by the netherlands ministry of transport and waterworks. The working group states that with regard to the application of "zebra-crossings": (1) these must be applied only at places with a relatively continuous and concentrated flow of crossing pedestrians; (2) application of zebras within a "woonerf" or a "30 km/h area" is not necessary.
Abstract