抄録
In emerging countries such as India, traffic control and road-space allocation are generally biased toward vehicular traffic and the requirements of pedestrians are not given due consideration, making them desperate to cross roads even when conflicting vehicles are moving. This paper aims to investigate pedestrian-related safety aspects in urban India by estimating the post-encroachment time (PET) and the threshold wait time (TWT) for pedestrians during crossing. A representative traffic corridor in Kolkata city was taken as the case study and data were obtained from a questionnaire survey and videography at an intersection and a midblock section. A comparison of stated responses with the revealed behavior indicated that pedestrians generally overestimated the maximum waiting times. A low PET value was observed, which indicates the high risk of accidents for pedestrians under the prevailing conditions. The average TWT was 48 seconds, which indicates the need to reexamine signal design, enforcement practices, and the need for grade-separated crosswalk facilities. The results also indicate heterogeneity in TWT in terms of age and trip purpose of pedestrians.
