This article considers the provision and operation of facilities which are installed with the objective of assisting pedestrians to cross the road at signal controlled junctions. In the UK traffic signals at junctions have traditionally been installed primarily to resolve vehicle conflicts and have been designed for maximum vehicle capacity and minimum vehicle delay, current practice in the UK and in several overseas countries is considered. The paper describes a study of pedestrian behaviour at signal controlled junctions and the development of a simulation program which models pedestrian and vehicle behaviour for a range of pedestrian facilities and operating strategies. The model is applied to demonstrate variations in pedestrian and vehicle mean delay corresponding to different techniques for assisting pedestrians at signal controlled junctions. The results confirm that, with current practice, pedestrian signals at junctions in the UK usually increase both vehicle and pedestrian delay. The safety implications of pedestrian signals at junctions are briefly reviewed. Alternative policies for the provision and operation of pedestrian signals at signal controlled junctions are considered. It is concluded that there is a case for a change in policy to give increased weighting to pedestrian requirements and hence improve pedestrian amenity at signal controlled junctions. (A)
Abstract