Abstract

A pedestrian crossing or a crosswalk is the place designated for pedestrians to cross the road at a mid-block section or an intersection. The crossing behaviour of pedestrians at signalised intersections has become one of the main concerns of safety at intersections. The main objectives of this study were to investigate different behavioral characteristics of crossing pedestrians with regard to gender and age groups and determine the mean waiting endurance time of pedestrians crossing at the selected signalized intersections in Sri Lanka. Pedestrian behavioural data and data for waiting endurance time at three identified urban intersections were collected for a time period of three weeks. A total of 2310 pedestrians were observed at all intersections for both crossing characteristics and endurance time. Data for crossing characteristics were extracted and coded according to eight different characteristics within the two phases before and during crossing. The behavioural differences among gender and age groups were also examined including the identification of the different crossing paths produced. Then a Cox’s Regression Model was developed for the endurance time at the intersection with the highest mean waiting endurance time. The results showed that most of the male and old pedestrians tend to produce violent crossing characteristics. It was also noted that many pedestrians neglect to adhere to a straight path during the crossing. From the results and observations of this study it can be concluded that both crossing characteristics and waiting endurance time depends on gender, age and the surrounding road and traffic conditions, which would deny the safety of pedestrians and increase conflicts with vehicles at signalised intersections.