Analyzing Behaviour to Increase the Safety of Pedestrian Movements

The main objective of this paper is to highlight the factors being taken into account concerning a pedestrian’s motivation to cross roads and to witness the relationship between observed-behavior, infrastructure, and accidents. This study therefore seeks to understand how types of environment affect pedestrian-behavior within urban public space. To do so, an innovative method will be used. This method is a fourfold approach, implemented with the assistance of sociologist. The linking of the four approaches aims to better support pedestrians crossing within an area of public space and should lead to operational measures (tools to back up decisions, feedback), but simultaneously serves as a bridge between research and practitioner know-how. The results of observing pedestrian behavior when crossing show differences according to the type of infrastructure and traffic conditions. Indeed, certain conditions are unfavorable to the correct use of pedestrian signals, such as the reduced width of crossings, the lightness of traffic, or the intervals between two vehicle flows, and thereby contribute to the genesis of unsafe pedestrian movements. It is therefore important to further consider recommendations for improving the usability of public space, taking into account, among others, legibility and finding one’s way, unconscious risk-taking, and especially user-needs. Public space must then be redesigned and geared towards the pedestrian.