Perceptions and Observations of Pedestrian and Vehicle Interaction at Points of Conflict: Signalized crossings, Four-Way Stops, and Uncontrolled Marked Crosswalks

Pedestrians and motor vehicles are not always in harmony in North American cities which are generally dominated by car traffic. Priority is often given to vehicle level of service, resulting in conditions that are often difficult, if not hostile, to other users like pedestrians. This domination over the street’s usage is detrimental to the development in popularity of alternative transportation means, as it deteriorates the walking experience within the cities. News and social media about the relationship between drivers and pedestrians is not uncommon, but is that sensationalism or do pedestrians in general feel this? If they feel this way, are the problems they note observable? Do those observations confirm or refute those perceptions? This study, which took place in Quebec City, aims at answering that, by focusing on different types of pedestrian crossings, where the paths of both car drivers and pedestrians cross one another. With the comparison between what is thought by pedestrians, and what can be observed, the authors aim to discover if there is a problem in the pedestrian experience in the city involving the relationship with cars. It serves also to see if the perceptions of pedestrians can be trusted as a reliable source when compared with observable behavior.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANF10 Standing Committee on Pedestrians.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Landry, Charles-Éric
  • Deraspe, Gabriel Bolduc
  • Gervais, Jean-François
  • Ghanem, Lamia
  • Waygood, E O D
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2017-1-8 to 2017-1-12
• Date: 2017

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 17p
• Monograph Title: TRB 96th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crosswalks; Pedestrian movement; Pedestrian vehicle interface; Perception; Traffic conflicts; Zebra crossings
• Uncontrolled Terms: Four-way stop-controlled intersections; Observations
• Geographic Terms: Quebec (Canada)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01623087
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 17-02616
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jan 24 2017 3:15PM