SAFETY OF PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS AT SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS

In Israel three basic pedestrian crossing provisions are common at signalized intersections: an uncontrolled (but marked) crossing at a right-turn filtering lane; a pedestrian crossing phase concurrent with the vehicle phase (which may produce conflicts with turning vehicles); and an exclusive pedestrian phase, completely separating pedestrians from turning vehicles. The relative risk of these crossing-turning designs was evaluated through accident analysis. The data base consists of information about geometry, traffic, and operational characteristics of 320 signalized intersections in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa, and details of 5,132 vehicle accidents and 1,310 pedestrian accidents that occurred at those intersections during 1977-1982. The relationship between crossing type and average number of accidents per intersection was tested while factors known to affect accident level--vehicle volume, pedestrian activity, and intersection complexity--were controlled for. Pedestrian accidents were indeed influenced by these factors, but the various crossing types had little effect, if any, on the number of pedestrian accidents, and no effect on the number of vehicle collisions. There was some indication that exclusive and concurrent phases provide different degrees of pedestrian protection in particular combinations of vehicle and pedestrian volumes.