ANALYSIS OF THE APPROPRIATE INTERVALS FOR TWO-STAGE CROSSWALKS CONSIDERING DRIVER’S YIELDING BEHAVIORS

Abstract

 Recently, the installation of two-stage crosswalks has been promoted in Japan, however, jaywalking using zebra markings around the facilities has been observed. In this study, traffic flow simulation considering driver’s yielding behaviors was used to investigate the appropriate intervals for two-stage crosswalks under different roadside locations, road hierarchy, and traffic conditions when multiple two-stage crossing facilities are installed to increase the crossing opportunities for pedestrians. As a result, it was found that when two-stage crosswalks are installed at narrow intervals of 50 meters on an arterial road, the delay time of vehicles increases especially in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic, while the pedestrian delay time decreases mainly in cases with heavy vehicle traffic. It was also found that crosswalk type of two-stage crossing at low road hierarchy can be applied in the case of moderate traffic volume and the facilities cannot be applied in some cases on roads with narrow median width. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that 100-meter interval is appropriate to install the facilities located near bus stops.