Graduation Year
2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.C.E.
Degree Granting Department
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Major Professor
Yu Zhang
Co-Major Professor
Pei-Sung Lin
Keywords
Crosswalk, Logit, Signal, Traffic, Transportation
Abstract
With increasing energy costs as well as rampant congestion in major U.S. cities, the popularity of walk and bike mode choices have increased in recent years. Thus, the obtainment of a comprehensive knowledge of pedestrian and bicyclist behaviors is of great importance.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 11.1%#37; of pedestrian fatalities and 18.5%#37; of bicyclist fatalities in the U.S. occurred in Florida in 2011, which accounts for just 6.1%#37; of the nation's population. Additionally, intersections are hotspots for vehicle-pedestrian conflicts, which is confirmed by the Federal Highway Administration's estimate that nearly one in five pedestrian fatalities occur at intersections in the U.S. Since both signalized and non-signalized intersections are conflict points for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists, it is essential that traffic control methods ensure that safety is not compromised.
To examine the safety effects of different walk modes at signalized intersections, four locations in the Tampa Bay area were chosen. Two of the locations operate with Rest in Walk and Pedestrian Recall and the other two operate without Rest in Walk and Pedestrian Recall. A total of 26 hours of data were collected in early 2013 at the four study sites, which yielded 202 pedestrian and bicyclist observations.
Upon modeling behaviors using a multinomial Logit model, the presence of Rest in Walk and Pedestrian Recall on minor street pedestrian phases, which operate concurrently with major street vehicle phases, was found to encourage higher pedestrian and bicyclist compliance rates than their absence. Additionally, the presence or absence of the combination of both Rest in Walk and Pedestrian Recall was found to be the most influential variable examined.
Scholar Commons Citation
Mirabella, Jacob Allen, "Understanding Pedestrian and Bicyclist Compliance and Safety Impacts of Different Walk Modes at Signalized Intersections for a Livable Community" (2013). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/4829
