This paper examines the effects on pedestrian safety of the introduction of coloured pedestrian cross-walks in busy strip shopping centres by considering the “time-to-collision” between pedestrians and vehicles in these hazardous shopping centre environments. Observational studies involved measuring and analysing the “time-to-collision” between pedestrians and vehicles, both before and after coloured cross-walks were installed at a signalised intersection in a busy strip shopping centre of urban Australia. “Time-to-collision” is defined as the elapsed time between the moments at which a pedestrian and a vehicle arrive at the intersection of their conflicting paths. An important finding of the observational studies was a general tendency for longer “times-to-collision” after coloured cross-walks were introduced, that is a greater separation between pedestrians and vehicles. This theoretical improvement in pedestrian safety was reflected in a number of statistically reliable increases in the average “time- to-collision” between pedestrians and vehicles and in fewer pedestrians being exposed to short (i.e. potentially hazardous) “times-to-collision”. In addition to the observational studies, pedestrians were surveyed in strip shopping centres about their attitudes towards coloured cross-walks. The majority of participants interviewed indicated that the coloured cross-walks were able to offer them benefits as a pedestrian by increasing pedestrians’ and drivers’ attention or awareness of pedestrians and pedestrian crossings. From the findings of the “time-to-collision” analyses and the surveys, it was concluded that the use of coloured cross-walks at signalised crossings in busy shopping centre environments shows considerable potential for reducing both the incidence and severity of pedestrian crashes in these hazardous pedestrian surroundings. (Author/publisher)
Abstract