The Impact of Microscopic Factors in Evaluating the Effects of Pedestrian Countdown Timers on Pedestrian Decisions

This paper reports on the effectiveness of pedestrian countdown timers at signalized intersections. Data were collected at a study site in Lincoln, Nebraska before and after installation of pedestrian countdown timers. Two hypotheses were tested by analyzing the collected data: installation of pedestrian countdown timers increase walking speeds of pedestrians in the crosswalk and installation of pedestrian countdown timers increase pedestrians’ compliance at the intersection (compliance defined as a reduction in the number of pedestrians in the cross walk during the Don’t Walk phase of the timers). After controlling for a variety of factors that impact pedestrian behavior, results showed that installation of pedestrian countdown timers resulted in increased pedestrian walking speeds in the crosswalk and increased pedestrian compliance at the intersection. This study also illustrates the possibility of drawing incorrect conclusions if factors besides installation of pedestrian countdown timers are not explicitly taken into consideration. Some of these factors include time of day, presence of vehicles on the street that pedestrians are crossing, and right-turning traffic on to the street that pedestrians are crossing.